Her
by Bluest Skies
Summary: Another ficcie about the GBoys and two GGirls living in an apt., + a new roommate. many pov changes. CHAPTER 15 UP! WE'RE ALMOST DONE, AND WE NEED REVIEWS!!!
1. Apt 312

Disclaimer: OK! I admit it! I don't own any of the Gundam characters! Don't hurt me! And I will admit that I dislike many of the Gundam characters, so don't be mad if I bash your favorite!  
  
Apt. 312  
  
Once again, Relena was stuck with the dishes.  
  
It seemed like every week she was the one that ended up with the dishes. Maybe it was because she was the only one in the apartment who was single, so she was the only one who stayed home on nights like this. It wasn't fair. The others got to go out to clubs to get them some while she just stayed at home doing all the chores. The chore chart had said that Duo was the next one that had to wash the dishes. Of course, that chart may as well have been non-existent. And even if it were actually checked by everyone daily like it was supposed to be, Duo still wouldn't do his chores because he was a lazy bum whose mission in life was to eat and make out with Hildy (did I spell that rite?).  
  
Oh well. Relena was on her last dish anyway, so what did she care? Besides, it's not like they cared about her opinion anyway. In fact, she was beginning to wonder if they liked her at all, or if she was only there to be their personal maid.  
  
At least, Relena thought with slight relief, we have a new roommate coming in, so maybe they can help me with the chores. It was a little stupid, however, to bring in another person. There were already seven people in the apartment! Then again, the whole apartment building was filling up fast lately, and they had been told that they'd eventually have to bring in someone else.  
  
She wondered what this person would be like: tall, short, fat, skinny? She suddenly thought of something: What if it was a guy? Oh, she could get used to the idea of a guy being their new roommate! Maybe with one of those cute French accents, Relena thought giddily to herself.  
  
She could picture him walking in and saying, "Mon petit, where have you been all my life?" She giggled at her fantasy, and imagined a tall, dark and handsome French guy with muscles everywhere coming in and swooping her off her feet! She swooned with a schoolgirl pleasure, and took a pot and pretended it to be this French man. She put the pot to her chest and grabbed the handle like a hand, and she started to tango stupidly.  
  
The doorbell rang and a cold sweat came over her. What if it was the French guy? She couldn't let him see her like this, with wet hands and a pot on her breast! She slammed the pot on the countertop, hid her hands in her pockets, and ran for the door. She slowly turned the handle, and flung the door open with a hopeful grin.  
  
The grin quickly faded. "Oh," she said disappointedly. "It's just you three."  
  
A blonde haired boy with kindly blue eyes walked thru the door, looking at Relena strangely. A young man who had a streak of brown hair that he somehow had slicked straight over his right eye followed him. The third figure, a guy with jet black hair tied into a small tail behind his head, came after the first two with a look of melancholy that he always wore.  
  
Relena was not surprised. These three never seemed to take long in the bars, mainly because they were the most dedicated to their relationships. Wufei never really wanted to go to the bars, but he always went to please the others. He was in a strong relationship with Sally, and Relena supposed that he didn't want to ruin that.  
  
Quatre and Trowa were, of course, gay. They were in love with each other, and Relena had thought it was cute until she realized what a bad match they were for each other: Quatre was the nice, sensitive guy of the apartment, and Trowa barely ever talked. Relena wondered how their relationship survived with all of the fights they had. They never stayed in the bars because they always came home to have a nice, quiet evening with each other - that always ended up in a fight so loud that it kept everyone else awake.  
  
The four of them sat down, and Relena began a small discussion.  
  
"So, how was your night?"  
  
"Boring," Wufei said dully. Relena expected this response from him. Wufei always hated going out, and Relena supposed he did it to get out of chores.  
  
"Actually, we had fun," Quatre said in his normal bouncy manner. Relena was slightly surprised to hear this. Usually Quatre and his lover were in fights all the time - especially at the bars, when Trowa usually had too much to drink.  
  
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Relena said in her cheerful voice. "Where are the others?" Relena asked, although she already knew the answer to this question.  
  
"Duo and Hildy decided to stay back," Wufei said. Relena shrugged, not surprised in the least bit. Duo liked many things, but he especially liked to dance. Hildy was his girlfriend, and she basically did his bidding, so when he wanted to dance, they danced.  
  
"Heero wanted to find more clubs," Trowa said. Relena smirked at his sarcasm. She knew that Heero was always out at the clubs, partying with some guy until he came home at about 4 AM.  
  
"Well, we have that new roommate coming today," Relena said as she smiled. "I wonder what he'll be like."  
  
"He?" Wufei said doubtfully. "How are you so sure it will be a he?"  
  
Relena shrugged uncomfortably, afraid that he had guessed her inner- fantasies. "Women's intuition?"  
  
Wufei looked sardonically at her. "Your women's intuition also told you that you and Heero would be great lovers. And he turned out to be.well, not the straightest pole in the park."  
  
Relena smiled nervously, hoping that Duo and Hildy would come back so that she could change the subject. She stared at the door anxiously, and tapped her foot impatiently against the cheap carpet underneath her.  
  
Where could that new roommate be?  
  
Disclaimer: Ok, I know this idea's been done like a MILLION TIMES, but it's my first Gundam fiction! And if I made any spelling errors in names, tell me so I can change it. PLEASE R&R! FLAMING IS ALLOWED! 


	2. The Train

Disclaimer: Yay! Success! Three people like my story! O.O Ha. Okay, um, thanks for the correction on the Hilde thing, and I guess I spelled the rest right! Here's (dum dum dum) THE NEXT CHAPTER!  
  
  
  
The Train  
  
She still couldn't believe that she had made it on this train without breaking into tears. Even though her parents were dead and she didn't know most of her relatives, Areina had still felt a little sad to be leaving her beautiful home. The rivers, the trees, even the general low temperature of her country, Canada, made her a little angst. Her Canada.  
  
She was, of course, very nervous. She had never been to America before, despite her involvement in the war. She had heard that Americans were very discriminative against Canadians, but discrimination, like many other things, had never stopped her before!  
  
Still, Areina had never felt nervous in her life either. She was always the brave one, the one to say, "let's go" in time of emergency. She had never had second thoughts about anything before, especially not something she had been sure she wanted all her life. She stared at the train walls, brown and leather. She peered back out the window, the night sky black as gravel.  
  
She wrapped her arms around herself nervously, wondering what time it was. She looked at a clock on the wall: 1:30 AM. 1:30 am? She thought to herself. What if they don't like me? She pondered. What if they don't want to see me this late at night? What if they all think I'm the biggest dork they've ever met? She licked her lips agitatedly. She wished that the train would stop so that she could just get off and run.  
  
Areina clutched the aquamarine amulet her father had given her the last time she saw him. It had been in a great battle, half way in the war.  
  
"Take this," her father had said to her as she held him, dying, in her arms. "It always reminded me of the color of your mother's eyes."  
  
That battle was probably the worst day of her life, because she had been on the opposing side of her father.  
  
It was a spy agency that worked as a double agent for OZ and the Sanct Kingdom. Her father's army had caught on to the group's cause, and attacked their base. Her father, of course, died in the battle at the hands of her agency's leader. She quit the agency just after the battle and ran away from it with her amulet, the clothes on her back and the only money she had.  
  
Of course, she had never willingly joined the organization anyway. When she was young, only about six years old, her father left for the war. After he had been gone for a few days, soldiers from the agency came to her home and killed her mother. She had to watch as her mother was shot to death. The soldiers gave her the choice of death or joining them, so she took the latter.  
  
The agency had been considered the best for training in self-defense. She quickly learned every type of fighting style in the book, and became one of the agency's best soldiers. This was why she had to run away from the agency: If she had told them she wanted to quit, they would have killed her. So, she ran away, and the next day the agency was caught off guard and destroyed by the alliance. After that, she continued her life as a normal teenager in Canada, renting an apartment for three years with her meager money.  
  
Thinking about these past war problems clogged her head, so she shook off her memories. She looked out the window as the train came to a screeching halt.  
  
- - -  
  
Duo had known that this was coming.  
  
He and Hilde had just gotten home, and already Relena was scolding them for coming back so late at night. Nag, nag, nag, Duo thought to him self in frustration. She's only mad because she can't find a man!  
  
He rolled his eyes as she began to slow down. Hilde sat on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder and looking very tired. Duo loved it when she put her head on his shoulder. It made him feel somewhat...comforting. His arms rested around her waist, and hers around his shoulders.  
  
Finally, the doorbell rang, relieving Duo of Relena's endless dribble. But then it hit him like a brick.  
  
It was only 2:00 AM. It couldn't have been Hiro at the door, since he usually came back at least 4:00. Duo and everyone else in the apartment knew it could only be one person. It was the new roommate.  
  
For some reason Relena's head popped up and she sprinted to the door. Duo couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, so he didn't try to. She swung the door open, looked at the person in front of her with anticipation, and then seemed to notice something about this person. She sighed and stepped aside to reveal our new roommate.  
  
Boy, was she hot! She wore white sneakers, dark blue bellbottom jeans that fit comfortably around her waist, and a loose purple sweater that revealed one shoulder because it was so baggy. On that shoulder she had a black backpack that didn't seem that full. Her butt wasn't bad, and her boobs were about average size.  
  
And she was definitely easy on the eyes. Her jungle green hair flowed down to the very bottom of her spine, and it slunk over her shoulders. She had emerald eyes and a small nose, regular lips, and nice ears. She wasn't even wearing make-up, and she looked very nice. Duo knew he had a girlfriend already, but he couldn't help looking at her with some lust. She held her pocket with only her thumb inside, like a cowboy, and she grinned nervously.  
  
"Are you guys looking for a new roommate?" the girl said uneasily.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina was now sitting down on one of the plush red love seats in the living room. She had been served some apple juice, which she accepted thankfully. The living room had two lamps to light it well, a small central table that was covered with resumes and receipts, and three love seats, one red, one black and one blue. Areina wondered how much "love" had gone on in this room.  
  
She wasn't stupid. She knew that the better looking you were, the more people went after you for sex. And these people were definitely not ugly. The one with the long ponytail and blue-violet eyes was quite attractive, and he had a lean figure to match. The girl he was cuddling up next to was just as good-looking, with short blue hair and a nice smile. Quatre and Trowa, the gay lovers that were sitting next to each other, were lookers, too, one with blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, the other with dark brown eyes and a streak of his hair covering his right eye. The girl to her left, Relena, was so gorgeous and perfect that it almost sickened Areina. Her long blonde hair curved around onto her lap, and she had dazzling blue eyes. Areina really couldn't stand blonde haired, blue-eyed girls for some reason or another.  
  
Areina listened as Duo finished up his history. They had been going around the rooms, each one relating their life story to the others. Areina didn't quite like the way Duo was looking at her, but she decided to take it as a compliment. He ended his tale, and they sat in silence until Relena began talking again.  
  
"It's 4 am," Relena said to the others, gesturing to the clock. "Hiro should be coming any minute now."  
  
Areina skimmed her mind, and finally remembered who they had said Hiro was. "You mean the other gay guy?" Suddenly realizing how rude she had just been, she quickly slapped her forehead and looked apologetically at Quatre and Trowa.  
  
"It's okay," Quatre said as he waved his hand in forgiveness. Before he could continue, the doorbell rang.  
  
Relena trudged on over to the door and let a young boy in that was probably about their age, which was 18. He had brown hair, rippling muscles, and was definitely attractive, just like the rest of them.  
  
Areina had never thought of herself as attractive. She'd always looked in the mirror and said to herself, "Hello, green-haired, small breasted freak of nature!"  
  
Hiro's hair was quite a mess, and he stared piercingly across the room. When his eyes fell on Areina, however, they blinked and widened in shock, and looked her over from head to toe.  
  
"Hey, late boy, meet our new roommate," Relena said as she waved her hand in my direction. Hiro walked over and shook my hand in a strong grip. She had always responded quickly to strength by showing off her strength as well. She tightened her grasp on the boy's warm hand, and she noticed him wince barely. Embarrassed, he let go of my hand and quickly bid us all good night. We all decided to go to bed as well.  
  
Areina was told to share a bedroom with Relena, whom she was beginning to really dislike. Relena was the definition of a dumb blonde, giggly and naïve. Areina shrugged, too tired to worry about it. She flopped onto her bed, and quickly fell into a drowsy sleep, knowing that tomorrow was going to be a long day. 


	3. The First Morning

Disclaimer: YAY! Reviews!!! BTW, to answer some questions: Thanks for the Sanq thing. I agree Canada DOES Rule! And I DARE TO MAKE TROWA GAY BECAUSE I AM THE ALL-MIGHTY AUTHOR! MWAHAHA! The character is NOT an interpretation of me WHATSOEVER, but she is my way of getting out my frustrations against some characters. Plus, I'm kind of equal-opportunity (which is weird cause I'm a guy!) and I've always viewed certain characters on Gundam (cough, Relena, cough!) as too much like the classic perspective of a weak, submissive woman. You will see later on that Areina is 110% FEMINIST!!! But for now, CHAPTER 3!  
  
The First Morning  
  
Hiro woke up to the refreshing smell of hot chocolate - which was quite a surprise since Relena usually just poured out some orange juice for drinks, which he hated!  
  
Slowly rising from bed, the messy-haired youth threw his covers onto the floor, revealing that he was wearing only his red and white striped boxers. He stepped toward the door begrudgingly, dreading the thought of seeing Relena and hearing her scolding him the first thing in the morning. Hiro turned to the clock, and mumbled angrily, "6:30?" Relena never usually got up this early, unless she was going to give Hiro a huge lesson on how to get home early.  
  
Hiro hung his head as he shuffled into the kitchen like a snail and took a seat at the table. He put his head on the tabletop sleepily and waited for Relena's scolding. But instead of hearing her terrible nagging, Hiro only heard a soft humming of an old song. He remembered back to his history studies in his training, and recalled learning about and hearing some tunes. He thought back for a while, and suddenly remembered the name of this song. It was called "Hero," and some female singer had recorded it.  
  
Hiro had no idea how Relena, or any of the others in the apartment, could have known this song, and he looked up to find that Relena wasn't the one singing it. In fact, Relena wasn't even there, but instead the new girl, Areina, was standing there making breakfast!  
  
"Morning, Hiro," the green haired girl said with her back turned. Hiro stared curiously at the girl who was making breakfast so early in the morning.  
  
"What are you making?" Hiro asked nonchalantly.  
  
"Just some omelet's," she said as she checked the coffee percolator to see if the hot chocolate was ready yet. "Anyone else up?"  
  
"No," Hiro responded dully. "But I can assure you that Relena will be up in a few minutes, scolding me for coming home late last night."  
  
Areina chuckled politely. "You're quite the partier, aren't you, Hiro?"  
  
"You could say that," Hiro said, and he smirked a little. "So, where are you from again?"  
  
"Canada," Areina responded with a sense of pride.  
  
"Why did you come here?" Hiro asked confusedly. "Canada's got twice as pretty scenery as the United States, and living here is definitely not easy."  
  
"I'm just looking for work," Areina said as she shrugged.  
  
"What kind of work could you possibly find here that you couldn't in Canada?"  
  
"Well, I kind of," Areina began as she trailed off. She turned her head to Hiro, but seeing his piercing eyes stare her full in the face, blushed and frowned uncomfortably as she turned back to her omelets.  
  
"Kind of what?" Hiro asked. "I won't laugh."  
  
"I...well...I kind of want to be a singer," she blurted out shyly.  
  
Hiro gave her a sarcastic look, and she didn't dare turn her face back around. "You really think you can be successful in America?"  
  
Just as she was going to say something, Relena walked thru the door with a satisfactory smile on her face. "Oh, man, that smells great!" she gasped as she sniffed the air some more. Suddenly opening her eyes and blinking, she responded to herself, "But Duo won't like it."  
  
Areina giggled and replied, "Trust me, he hasn't tried my omelets yet!"  
  
"And what's so great about your omelets?" Hiro said sardonically.  
  
"You'll see," Areina said mockingly.  
  
- - -  
  
Quatre and Trowa walked thru the kitchen door drowsily, both in their boxers. Quatre peered around the room to see Relena in her t-shirt that had the word "princess" on it and a pair of boxers that he had loaned her and Hiro in his boxers. To his surprise, he also saw the new girl at the stove, cooking a breakfast of omelets and hot chocolate. She was wearing a deep blue robe, and it was obvious that she had no underwear on underneath. Quatre was a bit embarrassed to be in only his underwear when a girl who had only a fraction of his money was wearing a robe.  
  
He wafted the scent of the omelets, which smelled very good. He grinned, because he hadn't eaten a good omelet in a long time. He looked at Trowa, who seemed to like the smell as well.  
  
Wufei, Duo and Hilde walked in after about five minutes. Areina had set the table, and she beamed broadly at all of them. "Breakfast is served."  
  
- - -  
  
Everyone gobbled down the delicious omelets. Everyone, that was, except for Duo, who grimaced at his plate. Wufei remembered how much Duo hated eggs, and nearly laughed out loud at the Canadian girl's innocent mistake.  
  
"Go ahead, Duo," the green haired beauty said as she laughed at his cowardice. "It doesn't bite."  
  
Duo reluctantly slipped a hand around the omelet, staring at it suspiciously. Everyone stared at him anxiously, waiting to see if Areina's omelets were as good as she claimed. The pony-tailed boy bit into the omelet, and munched thoughtfully, then stuck his tongue out in disgust.  
  
Areina drooped when he did this. "This is disgusting!" Duo said as he took another bite. "It's awful!" He chomped again as he spoke.  
  
Areina peered at him awkwardly as he devoured the omelet. "You don't have to eat it all."  
  
"I know," Duo said, mouth full of omelet. Wufei smiled slyly, catching on to Duo's trick.  
  
Everyone else stared curiously as he finished the omelet like a pig who hadn't eaten in weeks.  
  
"More, please."  
  
Everyone grinned at each other, and Areina laughed heartily as she dished out another helping of omelet.  
  
- - -  
  
It was 7:30, and Hilde was anxious to go to some clubs just as everyone came home after showing Areina around town.  
  
"Let's go out," Hiro said, who, as always, wanted to find some booty, and FAST!  
  
"I agree," Hilde said anxiously.  
  
"No way," Relena said firmly. "You guys have got to stay home and help me with the chores!"  
  
"Come on, Relena," Areina suggested to the surprise of the others. Why was little miss Betsy Crocker standing up for them? "Most of the chores are done. Besides, you could use a night on the town."  
  
Relena looked doubtfully at Areina, and although she tried to argue with her, she realized there was nothing to put against the Canadian's notion. Relena shrugged, the others whooped, and Areina grinned.  
  
"Put on your coats, everyone," Areina shouted over the noisy cheers. "We're going out!" 


	4. The Safari

Disclaimer: Hope you like this chapter! Trust me, it's a lot more exciting than the last one! Here we go!  
  
The Safari  
  
Areina peered around mistily, for this city was very new to her. She quickly caught up with the others, who were far ahead of her and at the club door. A neon flashing sign that said "Safari" gave away the club's name.  
  
"No kiddies under 18 allowed," a tall-built African-American man said in a gruff voice. They looked at each other warily, but Areina had an idea.  
  
"Guys," Areina said suggestively as she winked slightly at Hiro, who stared back confusedly. "You know you're cramping my style!" She raised her eyebrow flirtatiously at the guard, who stood still and solemn.  
  
Trowa stepped closely to Areina, and quickly whispered in her ear. "What are you doing?" the boy said urgently. "If you try anything on that guard, he'll beat us all up!"  
  
"Trust me," Areina said thru a wide grin and clenched teeth. She gazed at the large guard and he looked at her strangely, as did the others, who were totally lost.  
  
Areina grabbed the guard by his shoulders and blew softly in his ear. The guard couldn't help but smile a bit at this. She turned the guard to the left, and they started walking, Areina half-forcing the guard along, away from the club. Areina winked again at the guard, who giggled a little bit and grinned slyly.  
  
The green-haired girl motioned silently to the others with her hand to go into the club quickly. She heard hurried footsteps behind her, and as soon as they stopped she put her arm around the man's waist.  
  
"I need a big, strong man, you know," she said smoothly. "Maybe you could help me with that?"  
  
"No problem," the man said in an equally smooth voice as he leaned in to kiss her. She chose then to strike, and her fist went firmly into his groin.  
  
The man winced and held his crotch in pain as Areina sprinted for the door. She grabbed the handle quickly, and within a moment, she was in the club.  
  
- - -  
  
As usual, the club was doused in a flame of colorful lights, ranging from yellow to white to green to red to blue, and everything in between. Hiro remembered the club from the dozens of other times they had visited it, because it was Duo's favorite club. He usually went to whatever club Duo wanted to go to, because duo had good taste and he had to admit that he definitely enjoyed watching Duo dance.  
  
After all, Duo was probably one of the best dancers in town. At almost every club, he was the undisputed champion of the dance floor. In any circle face off, he was the sure fire bet to win. It was partially due to the fact that Duo could dance practically any style, from break dance to tap dance to even salsa!  
  
Hiro had to admit that, although he was a good dancer, Duo was much better. Duo may not have been better at him in many things, but dancing was definitely one of them.  
  
He suddenly realized that he had lost the others in the crowd! He peered around the club, and was able to spot Relena on the far left at the bar, drinking only a glass of water. What a wuss, Hiro thought to himself as he recalled how she had had a huge crush on him a long time ago. He shuddered slightly, but noticed that a dance circle had formed on the floor below him. He peered into the circle of shouting people and noticed Duo in the middle, as usual, dancing against Quatre. Hiro chuckled silently to himself. Quatre always challenged Duo, even thought he knew that there was no chance that he could beat the dancing king.  
  
Quatre couldn't dance, plain and simple. The most he could do was belly dance, and for an Arabian kid, he was pretty bad. All of this aside, Quatre still challenged Duo to dance face offs all the time - and always lost. He never lost courage, and each night he'd try again. Quatre knew he couldn't dance, but at least he tried.  
  
Hiro could barely see some of his friends' faces in the crowd: Hilde was dancing to the beat while watching Duo and cheering him on. Trowa was doing the same to his lover, and Wufei just stood in the crowd watching the two of them dance, not moving and barely looking like he was breathing.  
  
Hiro smirked at this, knowing Wufei to be the silent one of the group and the equalizer on the dance floor, because he could never pick a side to root for.  
  
Hiro suddenly remembered Areina, and realized that she must still be out on the street with that guard. The young man had been surprised that Areina was willing to flirt with the man to get them in, and even more so that it worked. He shrugged, supposing that she would eventually show up in the club.  
  
Hiro walked down the steps to the dance floor, and began shaking his hips roughly to the infectious beat of the blaring techno music.  
  
- - -  
  
Relena sat alone at the bar, sipping on her water like a fool.  
  
Now she remembered why she never went out with them. It was because they always excluded her from the activity. Maybe it was because she was rich, or because she was the ruler of the Sanq Kingdom, or for a reason unknown to her.  
  
Perhaps it was her fault. Perhaps she was the one secluding her from the group, not vice-versa.  
  
If that were the case, then it was mainly because of Hiro. He was such a jerk. It wasn't that she hated him because he turned out to be gay after she admitted that she loved him. It wasn't even the fact that he seemed to get enjoyment out of violence and she hated violence.  
  
It was the bloody silence between them. For some reason, every time she tried to talk to Hiro, even in private, he'd just walk away from her, and leave her alone in the room wondering what she did wrong. Even when she tried to get closer to him as a friend, he would simply ignore her and make a derogatory comment like "Go away" or "Can't you see I'm busy right now?"  
  
Part of her wanted to get on that dance floor and shake it with him all night. But she wasn't drunk from water. She knew that if she did that he would hate her for the rest of his life. Either that, or he'd just walk away - again.  
  
A soft tear dripped into the water from her eye. She hated him. She really hated him, even though she didn't want to. And for that she hated herself. She hated it that she couldn't walk up to him and shake him really hard and say "What's the matter with you? WHY DO YOU HATE ME?" She hated it that -  
  
"What's wrong?" a familiar voice yelled to her over the music, interrupting her thoughts. Relena looked up, tears streaming from her face, to see Areina with a look of concern in her eyes.  
  
She quickly turned away and wiped her sleeve across her eyes. "Nothing." She said in a cracked voice. "Don't worry about it."  
  
"Tell me," Areina said, her hand on Relena's shoulder comfortingly. "I know that something's -"  
  
Just then a loud whooping turned both of their attention to the floor below.  
  
A circle of people was on the dance floor, with Duo in the middle, cheering for himself, and Quatre across from him, who shrugged and walked into the crowd. The others were all in the crowd of people, cheering with the rest of the crowd for Duo.  
  
"Who wants to face me?" Duo shouted aggressively over the whoops of the crowd. "Come on! I want a lady now! I'll send any of you wimpy women across the floor and begging for more!" he screamed in a hip-hop rhyming voice.  
  
Areina peered darkly into the space in front of her. "Excuse me a moment," she said sternly with a hint of anger in her voice.  
  
Relena knew that this wasn't going to be good, and sensing that Areina was going to do something drastic, she followed the green-haired Canadian into the swarm of people below.  
  
- - -  
  
Duo loved it all. The dance lights, the blaring music, the crowd of screaming fans loving his performance. He felt like he was a star when he entered the dance rings, and that was half of the reason why he did it.  
  
The other half being, of course, the fact that he loved dancing and that he was great at it. He admitted that sometimes he could let it get to his head a little, but who wouldn't?  
  
He grinned with pride at the sight of Quatre leaving the dance floor - another victim for the undefeatable champion! That made it (if Duo hadn't lost count yet), 49 wins to 0 losses on the dance floor. He folded his arms smugly and smiled to himself at a job well done. Only one more victory until his goal of a perfect 50!  
  
Suddenly the crowd parted, and Duo looked curiously into the masses of people to see a blur of green. Areina stepped out of the crowd and into the ring with a look of undeniable fury. Relena ran after her with a look of worry on her face, but stopped at the boundary of the circle for fear of Duo challenging her.  
  
"Let's dance," Areina yelled over the hollering people. Duo widened his eyes in shock at the new roommate's nerve.  
  
"Well," Duo said with a look of arrogance on his face. "Aren't you eager to lose?" He paused to see her reaction, and she only got angrier, it seemed. Duo loved it when girls got angry. It was so hot!  
  
"You know that no woman has ever challenged me before?"  
  
"I know that you obviously don't know a woman's talents on the dance floor," Areina responded with a hot tone to her voice. "I intend to not only show you a woman's dancing capability, but to beat you as well."  
  
Duo nodded at the DJ, the signal for him to start the music.  
  
Duo's favorite song came on, and he knew that Areina was already beaten. He always danced his best to his favorite songs, and he began his art.  
  
The braided boy shook his hips as he clapped his hands to the rhythm. His feet seemed to glide across the dance floor as he did the still-famous moonwalk. He bobbed his head to the music and spun once before he finally stopped. The crowd roared in applause, including Hiro, Hilde, Trowa and Quatre.  
  
Areina had her hands on her hips with an eyebrow raised, showing that she was not impressed. Duo smirked, knowing that this Canadian hottie couldn't possibly compete with his dance moves.  
  
Areina began tapping her foot to the beat of the music, giving off shrugs and moans of impatience in the audience. This is the best she's got? Duo thought to himself. But suddenly, something unexpected happened.  
  
Areina's hands dropped from her hips, which began to sway violently. They seemed to shake upon every beat of the song, not every other beat like Duo's had. She raised one arm above her head and the other around her waist. Her fingers snapped to the infectious tune, and she improvised a little. Her hands moved from their positions and clapped on every fourth beat as her feet went into an intricate combination of tapping, clonking, stomping, twisting, and stepping to the rhythm. She stopped suddenly, and the ring of people went insane with cheers and screams.  
  
She looked at Duo smugly, whose mouth was open to its widest position in a look of total shock. This was only for a brief moment, however, because the boy still had some tricks up his sleeve. He signaled to the DJ, and the music suddenly changed to a Latin beat.  
  
The braided dancing wonder began a series of intricate maneuvers, crossing over each foot, going backward, and doing a one-man salsa to the music. His hands clapped loudly to the speedy Latin tempo. The music seemed to rush thru him, and everyone screamed wildly as he gave a final tap of his foot.  
  
Areina raised a doubtful eyebrow to the young man, and he knew he had her beat. The crowd echoed with chants of Duo, but the dancing boy could see Relena's face in the crowd, cheering for - Areina?  
  
The green-haired girl grinned devilishly at Duo, and she began her own dance. Her feet moved twice as fast as Duo's as her hands stood on her hips. She was performing a classic salsa, and it looked like a flash of fire with her red and orange belly-cut tank top and her white bellbottoms. She spun once, then twice, and finally three times, ending with the also classic pose of one hand over the head and the other on the belly, both in snapping poses. The crowd, once again, shrieked madly at her performance.  
  
Duo sneered in disgust. It looked like his 50th win would be a challenge. He glanced at the DJ, and some Arabic music came on. He smirked at Areina, who showed no sign of fear.  
  
Duo went into a detailed routine of twisting hand motions and foot tapping. He swayed his hips seductively to the music, and shrill screams and swoons could be heard from the women in the audience - and some of the men.  
  
Areina didn't look surprised when the dance ended, and the audience erupted with feverous applause. Duo smirked at her, never having worked this hard at dancing in his life.  
  
Areina waited for the next measure, then begun a very interesting dance. She did basically the same hand motions that Duo had, only she belly danced. Very well, Duo thought to himself as he watched her stomach curve in and out almost like a wave. She gave Duo what looked like an enticing smile, but as soon as it flashed across her face, it disappeared, and she was focused entirely on the dance.  
  
She finished, and several men in the audience - including Wufei - whooped for her. Even Quatre had had a change of heart, and was now rooting for the exceptional bell dance done by this Canadian beauty. She grinned at Duo, showing her pearly white teeth. She had a great smile.  
  
Duo shook these thoughts out of his mind and pointed to the DJ. This was his last chance - the tiebreaker. Either he beat Areina in this, or his score would be wins: 49, ties: 1.  
  
A hip-hop beat surged over the dance floor. Break-dancing was Duo's strong suit. And it was an obvious fact that no girl could break-dance. Duo smiled to himself, knowing that he was definitely going to win.  
  
He slammed his body onto the dance floor and began several spins on his hands, with his legs winding around as if he were a spinning top. He rolled on his back and flopped back up onto his feet. He clutched his foot in one hand, and began pulling it back and forth, hopping on one knee to the tempo.  
  
He landed on the floor again and finished with a one-handed headstand. He fell onto the ground, face up, with screaming people above his head.  
  
Areina looked nervously across the dance floor. Duo grinned broadly to himself, knowing that he had finally beaten her.  
  
- - -  
  
The green-haired vixen looked back at Relena, who glanced in her eyes reassuringly.  
  
Areina turned back to the dance floor. She was not going to let this sexist pig get the best of her.  
  
Areina dropped to the floor and began.  
  
She leaned back on her hands and did a kick with both feet in the air. She came back to a kneeling position and kicked her feet out, one after the other, while rotating in a circle. Areina did a quick back flip onto her feet and began a clapping section, where she slapped her thighs, her chest, under her legs, and both of her hands in a complex variety to the beat. She fell back to the floor and also did a hand stand; only she was quickly hopping from one hand to the other.  
  
She flopped to the floor in exhaustion as she heard the crowd cheer so loudly that the music was drowned out by their screams and whoops. She had done it; she had beaten Duo. 


	5. Dishes

Disclaimer: YAY! REVIEWS! Um okay, I'm glad you all actually LIKE the rebelliousness of Areina! I was afraid you would think she was a man hater, but oh well! You didn't! Yay!  
  
And, as usual, I don't own any of the Gundam characters (some I wouldn't want *cough Relena cough*)  
  
Back to the story!  
  
Dishes  
  
Relena was stuck, YET AGAIN, with washing the dishes while the guys went out. What a surprise.  
  
Well, at least she had some people to help her. Areina was kind enough to offer her assistance, and at least she was somewhat useful with dishes. Hilde was helping her, only because she felt sorry for her. Of course, 'helping' wasn't really the word, since Hilde had no idea what a sponge even was. Quatre had decided to stay back, because Trowa and he had had a fight in the club the night before - something about each of them cheering for opposite sides of the dance match.  
  
Relena still couldn't believe that Areina was even able to keep up with Duo's slick dance moves, let alone beat him to a pulp in front of a teeming crowd of dance freaks, jeering and shouting at them both. But she was slightly pleased with the outcome, for Duo had been getting a little cocky about his dancing talent.  
  
"So what're the dos and don'ts around here?" Areina asked out of the blue.  
  
"Don't make any derogatory comments about sexuality,' Quatre said firmly, especially for him. However, Quatre was very touchy about comments regarding homosexuality, and it was the one thing that could get him angry.  
  
"Don't prejudge people," Hilde said matter-of-factly, happy that she could get in a note for once. It seemed that whenever Duo was around, she didn't get to voice her opinion that often because Duo was such a loudmouth.  
  
"Do help out with the chores," Relena said strictly. She was getting tired of always having to deal with the chores.  
  
"And do respect people," Quatre finished in his sensitive, child-like voice. Relena realized that she'd probably be attracted to him, if he weren't gay. They shared many traits, like sensitivity and kindness. Too bad he's gay, Relena thought jokingly. Like Quatre would ever be interested in me.  
  
He liked the more rough men, for some odd reason. It was strange, because he was anything but rough. Maybe they gave him a sense of safety, or maybe he just got hot at the thought of a nice, strong man. Hilde, on the other hand, liked her men more socially attractive, like Duo: Funny, attractive, energetic men who never stopped moving their mouths! Then there was Relena, who liked the mysterious type, the ones who barely talked at all. Strength was definitely a good quality for her. He didn't have to be smart or charming, he just had to be strong. Of course, looks weren't a bad quality, either. Although, she still had no clue what Areina's taste in men was.  
  
Suddenly, Quatre asked the question that Relena was thinking. "What kind of men do you like, Areina?"  
  
- - -  
  
Areina blinked and slowly put down the dish she was washing. She was totally taken back by this random question. She stared off into space, wondering what to say.  
  
"I guess I like the classic tall, dark, and handsome," Areina said, lying her ass off. "Blonde hair is also a nice quality."  
  
All of this couldn't be more far off from the truth. In reality, she had a very strange taste in men. Instead of most girls, who loved their men to be big, strong, and hot, she liked ugly, short, and fat men who were funny but sensitive. She also loved a guy with a big nose: If she could find someone with those qualities, she'd fall in love with him on the first date. She truly loved sensitive men, for they always seemed to be the most sincere and the most lovable. And of all things, she HATED men with blonde hair. Quatre was lucky he was gay, or she'd hate him to no end.  
  
"Ah," Quatre said with a jesting tone. "So people like Wufei would be perfect if they had blonde hair?"  
  
Areina turned a bright red at this, because she found Wufei quite unattractive. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Areina's got a crush," Hilde sang mockingly to the tune of "Ring around the Rosie."  
  
Soon all three of them were joining in to the chant. "Areina's got a crush, Areina's got a crush."  
  
"Oh, please!" Areina said, suppressing a giggle in the back of her throat, which turned her face even more bright pink.  
  
"Look how red she is!" Relena guffawed like a toddler.  
  
"It's official," Quatre yelled over the continuous chants. "Areina has the hots for Wufei!"  
  
All three of the others laughed, rolling on the soapy floor in hysterics. Areina peered down at them with a smirk on her face and her soapy hands at her hips.  
  
Suddenly a loud DING-DONG echoed through the apartment, and Areina rushed for the door, turning the knob with her soap-covered hand.  
  
"Hi," she said as she opened the door to find Wufei in front of her, wearing only a towel to cover his unmentionables. "Oh, God," Areina muttered nervously as she covered her eyes, embarrassed out of her mind as she heard the three in the kitchen walk out and start whistling like the perverts they were. She quickly lifted her hands from her eyes to see Hiro, Duo, and Trowa in the same towel-uniform as Wufei.  
  
She could hear Hilde, Quatre, and Relena in hysterics as she closed the door behind the four nude boys. Areina could feel herself turn a yet brighter shade of red, knowing that she was probably glowing.  
  
Areina uncovered her eyes to see the four boys blushing an equally bright shade of read. All except for Duo, who seemed like he was enjoying it so much that he was about to whip his towel off of himself and reveal what his mother gave him, which Areina definitely did not want to see.  
  
Just before the four naked-brothers ran to their rooms to get some clothes on, Areina decided to take some disciplinary action. "WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME IS GOING ON HERE!?!?" she yelled at a volume that made everyone go silent, and which could probably be heard two floors down.  
  
The four boys laughed nervously to each other, and faced Areina together.  
  
"Well, it's a funny story, really," Hiro began. "We went to the lake and, well.......got naked and went in for a swim."  
  
"You went skinny-dipping?" Areina said, half surprised and half amused.  
  
"Wish I had gone," Quatre remarked flirtatiously in Trowa's direction. Trowa blushed back in embarrassment.  
  
"Me, too," Hilde said, raising a suggestive eyebrow at Duo. Quatre and Hilde looked giddily at each other, both grinning at the images of their naked lovers.  
  
Areina rolled her eyes in disgust. "Continue," she said, so firm that all but Hiro flinched.  
  
"Well," Hiro said shyly, which was a strange mood for him to be in. "When we got out, we forgot where we put on our clothes, and as we were looking, a cop found us and chased us all the way here. We got some towels off of the clean laundry rack downstairs and came here as fast as we could."  
  
The doorbell rang again, and the four boys winced. "The cop, probably," Hiro said, backing away to his room door.  
  
Areina covered her eyes in frustration now. This was both amazing and terribly idiotic at the same time. Relena motioned for the four boys to get in their rooms quickly, and Areina walked to the door.  
  
When she was sure that the boys were safely in their rooms, Areina opened the door again, and sure enough, a stern policeman stood there, tapping his foot impatiently.  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The four naked boys who came out of the lake."  
  
Areina grinned nervously as Relena, Quatre and Hilde scurried about, nervously preparing tea.  
  
"Um, how about if we discuss it over some tea?" Areina said through clenched teeth.  
  
The cop lifted his sunglasses to reveal a pair of brown eyes that looked Areina over, with a slight sense of sick pleasure in them. "I guess it wouldn't hurt," the nasty-minded policeman said as he stepped into the room.  
  
They sat down on the couch, and the policeman stretched his arm around the back of the seat, flexing his muscles and continuously glancing in Areina's direction. Relena brought in the tea, tipsy with nervousness. She set down the two cups, which were half-empty from the amount she had spilled in the saucers.  
  
"So," the policeman said as his arm edged around Areina, like a spider crawling across the couch. "What do you do for a living?"  
  
"Nothing," Areina piped quickly as she scooted over.  
  
"Really? A cute chick like you?" the policeman said as he scooted over as well, cornering Areina on the couch.  
  
Areina hated it when men called her 'chick.'  
  
"She is quite cute, isn't she?" Duo's voice half-jeered from their right. The braided young man stood in the hallway with the four other previously nude boys. Areina didn't know what was worse, seeing the four in their towels, or seeing them in their tight boxer-briefs, which were a bit too tight, if you get my drift.  
  
"She's definitely an attractive one," the cop said as he squeezed Areina with his right arm, which had made it around her shoulder. "But what I'm concerned about is why four nice young men like you were running around naked."  
  
"Sir," Relena stammered in a raspy voice. "Please forgive them, they just lost all their clothes, and..." Relena's voice trailed off and resounded in a gasp as she noticed the man's gun at his belt.  
  
"Lost their clothes, eh?" the policeman said in a doubtful tone. "I'm not convinced, but I could be..."  
  
"You know," Duo said, changing the subject. "You two would make a great couple."  
  
The cop smiled with glee at Duo, while Areina furrowed her brows and opened her mouth in a huge, gaping frown at the braided boy in his underwear.  
  
"And she loves blondes!" Quatre cheerily piped in from the kitchen. Areina peered at the policeman's head, noticing blonde locks falling from underneath his cap.  
  
"You two should really go out," Duo said suggestively as he rubbed his chin with his hand slyly. Areina mouthed the worst curse word she could think of to Duo as the policeman turned away to look happily at Duo.  
  
"Tomorrow night, then?" the policeman said hopefully to Areina. The Canadian sat with her jaw half-open, staring blankly out of pure shock.  
  
"Tomorrow night," Duo said energetically.  
  
"See you then," the policeman said with a beaming smile as he exited the apartment, leaving Areina stunned and enraged.  
  
Uh-oh, maybe this chapter should be R? Oh, well, LET THE READERS DECIDE, I always say. Hope you liked it! :) 


	6. The Date From Hell

Disclaimer: I have to admit, that while this story isn't my best, I love writing it cause of REVIEWERS LIKE YOU! You love me, you really love me! Um, okay, I'll just get on with this story.  
  
Disclaimer PS: A WARNING TO ALL CHEAUVENIST MEN AND/OR FEMINIST HATERS: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME STRONG CHEAUVENIST-PIG-MAN-BUTT-KICKING CONTENT, SO THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT HAVE THE STOMACH FOR SUCH ACTION SHOULD TURN BACK AND READ MY OTHER FAN FICTIONS! Thank you. :)  
  
The Date From Hell  
  
Areina must have punched Duo in the groin at least 200 times. The braided victim now walked into the living room with his legs spread apart, limping and saying "Ouch" every other step.  
  
In the room, he could see the other Gundam pilots sitting on the love seats, chatting together about all of the crazy things that had happened within the course of three days. Relena and Hilde stood closely next to Areina, and all three of them were staring out the window, waiting for Areina's date in a combination of anticipation and fear. Areina, sensing Duo's presence, turned around and glared at him.  
  
She was wearing a long, strapless black dress that came down to her ankles and up to her underarms. They had also made her wear a silver bracelet of Relena's and sapphire earrings of Hilde's. Her masquera was a deep purple, and her lipstick a dark blue-violet. Duo couldn't help stifling laughter at the overly made-up Canadian, and at the whole situation itself. He lost all control, and burst out with relentless hysterics.  
  
"This is funny to you, isn't it, Duo?" Areina said thru gritted teeth, emphasizing every syllable sharply.  
  
Duo shook his head as he continued in a never-ending fit of laughter.  
  
"Need I remind you that this is ALL YOUR FAULT?" she said as she pointed at all of the Gundam boys.  
  
"Whoa, there, Areina," Duo said defensively. "If you're going to blame someone, blame me and Quatre, not all of them!"  
  
"Maybe you forgot who gave me some 'helpful advice' in dress and make- up," she said as she peered at Trowa, Hiro, and Wufei with an undeniable fury in her eyes. She turned back to the window. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to find out in advance just how horrifyingly awful tonight will go."  
  
"Oh, come on, Areina," Duo responded comfortingly. "You're doing it for us."  
  
Areina turned back around to see the four previously indecently exposing Gundam boys putting on their best Bambi eyes as they chuckled under their breath. She scoffed and turned her head back to the window.  
  
"Besides, it can't be THAT bad, can it?" Duo asked doubtfully.  
  
"Hey Areina, look," Relena said as she pointed at something down on the dark streets below.  
  
Duo came over to the window to see the cop from before outside in his police car, gesturing to Areina. He grinned as he stared up at them all, and, upon noticing that a pack of donuts was next to him instead of an empty seat, he quickly threw the donuts into the back seat and brushed their crumbs off the cushion next to him, which was ripping at the seams.  
  
Areina turned to Duo with one of her many glares on her face, leering with anger thru overly masquera-ed eyes. "Not that bad, huh?"  
  
Duo grinned and shrugged helplessly. "But if you don't, then we'll be forced to go into prison!"  
  
"Duo," Areina said firmly as she brought her face an inch from his. "Right now, I feel and look like a little whore, even though I'm not, and you're the pimp. I think I have a right to be angry!"  
  
"But you even said that you liked tall, dark, and handsome blondes!" Quatre replied innocently. "He's tall, he's handsome, he's blonde, and you don't get much darker than a policeman!"  
  
"Quatre, let me put it in plain English for you," she commented harshly as she batted her eyes at the young Arabian. "I don't *like* horny policeman who think of me as a *chick* or consider me no higher than a pack of donuts."  
  
She stood to her full height and grabbed her purse, walking toward the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go save your sorry hides from jail." With that, she stepped out of the door, and with a prompt "Good night," slammed the door hard enough to make a nearby portrait fall from the wall.  
  
"Watch out, boys," Hilde commented slyly as she and Relena got their things ready to go out. "Areina is a tad angry at all of you."  
  
"To put it lightly," Duo said as he shook his head and put on his coat. "I'm not sure if we should be following her or not."  
  
"We have to!" Relena exclaimed in a strange, over-protecting manner. "If that policeman gets out of hand, who knows what could happen to her?"  
  
Duo shrugged, and they left to keep close track of where the new "happy couple" went.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina could not believe how the date was going so far. The policeman had gotten lost, and couldn't find the club they were going to go to.  
  
"There it is," the policeman said victoriously as Areina rolled her eyes, trying to keep a nice smile on while imagining how she'd kill Duo when she came back.  
  
They entered the club, and found a dining table to eat at as they watched the Karaoke show that night. Areina ordered a light salad, so as to please the policeman while eating quickly. The faster she ate, the quicker the date would be over!  
  
"So," the policeman said in a voice that attempted to come on to Areina. "How'd your four little friends get to be naked, and why couldn't you have been naked with them?"  
  
Areina laughed nervously, now thinking to herself how she'd kill the policeman. "So, what's being a policeman like for you?"  
  
"Oh, not much," the policeman shrugged as he showed off his muscles again. "We just need to be everyone's hero, save the city from the bad guys, you know. The usual."  
  
Areina had no clue how this guy had become a policeman, but knew he wouldn't last for long. She looked at the stage, seeing a blonde haired, short young man step onto its center.  
  
She looked up in wide-eyed shock and shot her glance back to the stage. QUATRE?  
  
The blonde haired young gay boy brought his mouth up to the microphone, and Areina prayed to whatever God she still believed in to have mercy on her.  
  
Quatre began a song that Areina quickly recognized: "I've been really trying baby  
  
Trying to hold back these feelings for so long  
  
And if you feel, like I feel baby  
  
Come on, oh come on,  
  
  
  
Let's get it on"  
  
Areina's mouth dropped, and she glared at the ceiling, looking angrily at whatever God was left. She noticed the four other Gundam boys onstage, snapping their fingers like background singers. Areina was going to kill them when she got home.  
  
She peered at the policeman warily, who was very into the song. His gaze locked with hers, and she was nearly paralyzed with the fear of the nasty ideas involving her that were probably in his head.  
  
She felt a large hand on her leg, and the policeman smiled suggestively at her. SHE WAS GOING TO KILL THE BOYS WHEN SHE GOT HOME!  
  
"May I have this dance?" the policeman said across the table as he leaned towards her. His breath smelled of donut and garlic, and Areina wanted to puke.  
  
"Why not?" she said as she covered her mouth and nose with her hand. They got up, and began to move to the music.  
  
The policeman was a bad dancer, to say the least. He seemed to get a sadistic pleasure out of stepping on her feet, and did so every other step. She could smell his breath, and wished that the song would stop.  
  
After an eternity of wrong steps and bad breath, the song finally ceased, and Areina thanked the stars. She began slowly regressing back to her seat with her date, just when someone else got on the microphone, and whispered quickly to the musicians what song she wanted to play. Areina peered up at the heavens. "Round two of the Date from Hell," she thought to herself. "I hope this is better than round one, God."  
  
As soon as she heard loud and dramatic Tango music from the speakers, she practically jumped out of her socks with glee. She spied her roommates in a remote corner of the club, watching her every move. She winked at Duo, and gave him a mischievous grin. Duo glanced back at her with terror in his eyes, unsure of what she could be planning.  
  
"Let's dance," she exclaimed forcefully to the policeman, who had just gotten into his seat. She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the dance floor with her. They began a sharp and smooth tango, as he continuously crushed her feet while looking at practically every other woman in the room. She calmed herself, knowing that soon she would have her chance to strike.  
  
- - -  
  
Duo was panicking.  
  
Like the others, he knew that Areina was going to do something horrible to the policeman, but he had no clue what. Whatever it was, it was going to ruin their chances of staying out of jail.  
  
"What's she up to?" he asked the others in a frenzy of fear. "What's she going to do? What's this song?"  
  
"It's a Latin-based song," Hiro replied coolly, with a slight smirk on his face. Hiro knew what the song was really about, but he couldn't bear to break it to Duo. So, he lied and decided to wait and see what happened. The music slowed, and left the policeman dipping Areina. Hiro laughed within himself, knowing what was about to happen.  
  
Suddenly, the music burst into a rapid guitar, and Areina pushed the policeman into one of the dining tables, which he tumbled upon clumsily. Within that same second, she started to rotate and shake her hips extremely quickly, especially for the dress she was in. The girl at the Karaoke stage dropped her microphone and watched in shock, like everyone else in the club. The lyrics came up, and Areina did exactly what Hiro knew she'd do, since she obviously had the same musical knowledge that he did.  
  
"It's not her fault that she's so irresistible," Areina sang in a voice loud enough for the entire club to hear - and enjoy. Duo looked as though he were about to go into a series of spasms at what he saw. The policeman got back up and walked sternly over to the green haired, hip- shaking perpetrator, who raised a hand that signaled him to stop.  
  
"But all the damage she's caused isn't fixable," she sang again as she started her smooth belly dancing. "Every 20 seconds you repeat her name, but when it comes to me, you don't care...."  
  
"She's good, isn't she?" Quatre commented to a whimpering Duo as Hiro began laughing hysterically.  
  
"If I'm alive or dead," she sang as she pummeled the policeman just enough so that she didn't hurt him, but she did scare him. "So Objection I don't want to be the exception to get a bit of your attention."  
  
Duo's hand was covering his mouth, and he had never looked this scared in his life - at least, not since the war. Relena and Hilde cheered relentlessly for their independent - and clearly feminist - friend.  
  
"I love you for free and I'm not your mother, but you don't even bother," her voice rang like a bell signaling someone's execution. She continued to twirl her body with her hips, making for an interesting picture. "Objection I'm tired of this triangle," she sang as she pointed to Duo, herself, and the policeman, who was now staring in awe at her sudden destructiveness. She grabbed him by the shirt and brought his face an inch from hers. "Got dizzy dancing tango, I'm falling apart in you hands again." She pushed him back to the ground. "No way, I've got to get away!"  
  
A length of accordion music went by, and the policeman gave up on Areina. He got up to talk to a woman who had obviously had a boob job. Hiro shook his head, feeling like he was watching one of those cheesy old videos. Areina salsa-ed on the dance floor, lifting her dress so that you could see her footwork. She salsa-ed over to the policeman with a look of renewed anger on her face.  
  
"Next to her cheap silicone I look minimal," Areina sang as she pushed the woman aside. "That's why in front of your eyes I look minimal." She restarted the quick jolts of her hips as she advanced upon the now scared policeman. "But you got to know small things also count, better put your feet on the ground, and see what it's about, so Objection..."  
  
The song basically continued as the girl chased her date all over the dance floor. The others were all either laughing hysterically at how corny this was or slowly, agonizingly dying at the thought of what the cop would do to them. The song ended with the cop pinned to the floor and the Canadian ready to strangle him.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina quickly got up and helped the policeman to the door, then put him in his car and watched him driving away in horror. A short, fan, ugly man with a big nose came out of the club with a disappointed look on his face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Areina asked sympathetically. The short man looked up.  
  
"I was almost stepped on in there," the short man grinned up at her.  
  
Areina laughed and offered him her arm, and as he took it, he began walking her home. The seven other roommates were left behind, staring at the odd couple.  
  
"She lied to us," Quatre said blankly.  
  
"She lied horribly to us," Relena said just as blankly.  
  
"I'm going to KILL her when we get home," a braided boy next to them said.  
  
Disclaimer: Was that too cheesy? Sorry, I've just always wanted include that Shakira song in my writing ever since I heard it. OH WELL! Insult me if you want. Oh yeah, and I don't own any of the lyrics in this chapter. 


	7. Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: Not ONE review of the last chapter? I knew it was bad, but not THAT bad! I feel a little guilty writing a new chapter even though the last one hasn't received any reviews yet, but I simply HAD to write this chapter!!! Trust me, it is an AMAZING CHAPTER for this story! This is when the story gets a lot more dramatic, because now that you all have a pretty good idea of Areina's personality, it's time to see some events fold as the other roommates react even MORE to her actions! With that summary said, I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and remember that Areina isn't just a sexy feminist who beats up whoever she can, but that she is also a very scared spirit in a new world that gives little acceptance to her (no, I DON'T mean to her being Canadian, but to her being new to this world). And I'm warning you, if you haven't been paying attention to the story or haven't read the other chapters in a while (or at all!) then go back now to read at least from chapter 3 and past. And trust me, from now on you'll need to pay close attention to the plotline and each character's dilemmas. Keep those eyes open! O.O  
  
  
  
  
  
Heart and Soul  
  
"Areina," a gentle, familiar voice whispered quietly, waking her from her slumbers. "Areina," the voice whispered again, this time with a mischievous urgency as a warm hand shook the green-haired girl's shoulder tenderly.  
  
Areina mumbled as her eyes opened to see a blurry vision of a blonde boy kneeling at her bedside. She rubbed her eyes vigorously and shook her head as she yawned like a cat just waking from her nap on the windowsill. She sighed lightly, and her vision cleared to reveal the form of Quatre, holding her left shoulder grinning excitedly like a child on Christmas morning.  
  
"Areina, get up," Quatre whispered enthusiastically, standing up and jumping up and down energetically. Wearing only his boxers, he removed Areina's covers, and the sunlight from the large window nearby flickered upon her dark blue robe, made of cheap corduroy.  
  
Areina smiled at the bouncing Quatre, who now urged her continuously to stand up. She couldn't help but be slightly attracted to this gleeful youth, even though he was gay...and blonde...and handsome...  
  
It was his pure child-like sensitivity that attracted her to the blonde Arabian. He was so gentle and considerate, it almost made Areina want to laugh and cry at the same time.  
  
Rising from her bed, the Canadian chook off these thoughts and followed a sprinting Quatre through the piles of Relena's clothing on the bedroom floor. Quatre turned a corner, entering a small room to the left.  
  
In the room was a large case with a clear glass window at the center so that one could see inside it. Within the case were dozens of instruments, from the flute to the violin to the piccolo to the horn, and countless others. At the very depths of the case were classical music CDs, with composers like Mozart and Beethoven. She loved all music, and to see this wide variety of instruments and CDs made her feel like a kid gazing through the window of a toyshop.  
  
She glanced back at Quatre, who was sitting on a bench in front of a large piano that was at the back of the room, in front of the window patio that overlooked the streets below.  
  
The piano was a silky wooden black, and the sunlight from the window flashed against its surface. Quatre motioned for Areina to come and sit to his right, and she placed herself on the bench, sitting about half a foot from the grinning boy at the piano.  
  
"I want to teach you a piano song," Quatre said with his genuine liveliness. "Put your hands on top of those keys there, like this." Quatre changed the position of his own hands to show Areina, who caught on quickly and imitated the blue-eyed boy.  
  
Quatre sat at the deeper octave end of the piano, and changed his hand position back to the way it had been. "Now, play this," Quatre's hands practically glided across the keys as he played a small, charming little tune that had a distinctive rhythm that went like this:  
  
Bup-bup-bup, ba-dop-da-dop-da-da Bup-bup-bup, ba-doo-da-dop-da-da Dun, Dun, Da-dum-da-dum-dum-dum, Ba-dum, ba-dum ba-dum ba-Bup.  
  
Quatre's hand hopped from the piano as though it were very easy. He grinned at Areina with anticipation. Areina began an attempt to imitate his hands movements, and began mimicking what he had just played in the higher octave:  
  
Bup-bup-bup, ba-dop-da-dop-da-da Bup-bup-bup, ba-doo-da-dop-da-da PLING!  
  
A sharp note rang out and echoed through the room. Both Quatre and Areina winced, and Quatre peered at the girl's finger, which still lay on the white key she had hit.  
  
Quatre shook his head. "No, hit the black key next to that one," he said like a tutor. Areina hit the next black key up, making an even sharper note erupt from the piano, as though the instrument were crying out in anger and pain.  
  
"No, no, like this," Quatre replied to the sharp note.  
  
He placed his hand on hers to show her how to correct the note. But suddenly, he and Areina realized where his hand landed - on hers. She blushed lightly, and Quatre smiled nervously. He placed his finger on top of hers, and used it to move her hand to the right position and tap the correct black key. He nodded to her, and then helped her play through the song.  
  
Bup-bup-bup, ba-dop-da-dop-da-da Bup-bup-bup, ba-doo-da-dop-da-da Dun, Dun, Da-dum-da-dum-dum-dum, Ba-dum, ba-dum ba-dum ba-Bup  
  
"And then you just repeat it all over again," Quatre said as he smiled and brought his hand back to its original place. "While I play this," he affirmed as he began a harmony to the song:  
  
Dum-da-dum-da Bum-da-dum-da Dum-da-dum-da Dum-da-dum-da  
  
Areina nodded as Quatre's eyes widened with joy. They began playing the piano together, Areina playing her higher melody while Quatre played his lower harmony. They both bobbed their heads to the song, glancing at each other with happy smiles on their faces. The sun's rays played upon their hands, and would then drop down to the keys. Their hands made swift shadows upon the piano's black and white keys while the sunshine seemed to give life to the instrument. The simple tune continued as both of them enjoyed themselves.  
  
- - -  
  
Trowa woke up to the sound of "Heart and Soul" playing on the piano. He fondly thought of all the times Quatre had played this, Trowa's favorite song. He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes again and cuddled up to his lover's warm body in bed.  
  
"Huh," Trowa said to his love mischievously. "You're getting plump there, Quatre. Care to work off some of those pounds by -"  
  
Trowa opened his eyes and stopped suddenly to find that he wasn't holding Quatre close to his body, but a large pillow instead! He quickly sprung out of bed and ran toward the sound of the piano. He came out into the main room to see Hiro, Duo, Wufei, Hilde, and Relena huddled around the door to the Piano Room, each of them trying to climb over the others and peek inside. Trowa made his way through the crowd and squeezed through the door, the other five following him with equal curiosity.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina heard the door creak open, and turned to her right while playing to see Trowa standing and looking at the two of them worriedly, but then, upon taking in his sights, eased his expression and smiled at Quatre's playfulness. The other roommates were standing behind him with equally adoring smiles on their faces, tapping their feet to the hopping beat of the tune. All except Hiro, of course, whose face was as expressionless as it always had was.  
  
"Up early as always, just to get a piece of that piano," Trowa joked with a smirk as he nodded to the large instrument. "Sometimes I think that you love that thing more than me!"  
  
Quatre responded with an embarrassed smile. Trowa walked over to the blonde youth and bent down to give him a quick yet romantic kiss on the lips.  
  
Areina wasn't sure if this kiss was a way of Trowa saying, "Back of, ho, he's mine!" or "I love you so much," and not knowing made her a bit uncomfortable. She smiled nervously and stopped playing, as had Quatre, who stood up with his arm around his lover's waist.  
  
- - -  
  
"Why? That's all I want to know, why," Duo said in a voice that was very stern for him.  
  
"Is it so horrible that I lied about an insignificant thing like taste in men?" Areina argued sharply.  
  
"No, but it's the principle of the thing," Duo replied with more firmness. He was still quite angry that she had lied to them, and so early on in their relationship as fellow roommates! He was not about to give up on this debate. "Just apologize and everything will be fine!"  
  
"I am not about to apologize for something so trivial!" He could tell that Areina was feeling equally stubborn about the issue, but he wasn't about to give in. "If anyone else is angry at me right now, then please tell me so we can get this cleared up!"  
  
Everyone sat perfectly still, not about to get involved in this. Then, Wufei's hand slowly came up, followed by Hiro's, then Hilde's, Relena's, and Trowa's. Duo raised his hand as well, and glared at Areina viciously. He may have found her quite appealing, but not when she acted so hateful and stubborn.  
  
Areina threw up her hands in a surly anguish. "What about you?"  
  
"Me?" Duo yelled back angrily.  
  
"Yes, you, Mr. Let's-Sell-Our-New-Roommate-To-Some-Horny-Cop-Just-So- We'll- Stay-Out-Of-Prison!" Areina spat back.  
  
"Well, maybe if you hadn't LIED to us, I wouldn't have done that!" Duo barked back, a side of him showing that even he didn't see much.  
  
Areina scoffed and walked into her room with a gleam of anger in her eyes. But something else had also been there. A sense of loneliness seemed to lurk in her pupils as she slammed the door to the bedroom she shared with Relena.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina sat on her bed, holding herself and looking out the window in frustration. Why does he have to be such a jerk? She thought quietly. Why can't he just give me a moment's peace?  
  
She lay down on the bed and shoved her face into her pillow. She could feel soft tears sneaking their way out of her eyes but she wouldn't allow it. She sucked the tears back in with a loud sniff, and then lost all control.  
  
The tears burst from her eyes like a river that finally breaks through a dam. She sobbed silently to her pillow, knowing that her first impression had been a sour one. They were all angry with her now, and she'd probably never get their friendships back, at least not for a while.  
  
She hated herself when she cried, and even more so when a man had made her cry. She held the pillow, her only friend in this strange new place, to her face longingly. She had never had someone that she could call her own, and so she hugged the pillow. She hugged it until she was sure that, if it were living, it would be suffocating right now.  
  
The telephone next to her rang, and her head jolted up, tears mixed with snot that ran down her face, and snatched the phone.  
  
She sniffed loudly into the speaker, and, with a broken voice, said, "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, may I speak to a Ms... Areina Sitshonen?" a whiny, feminine voice blared through the speaker. (Yeah, I know, a bad attempt at an anime- sounding last name, but it has a certain ring to it! Okay, so maybe I couldn't come up with anything else...)  
  
"This is she," Areina replied as she wiped her face with a nearby tissue.  
  
"Yes, I'm calling from the Midnight Horizon regarding certain inexcusable behavior on your part. Do you recall going there recently?"  
  
Areina tensed with fear as she remembered the club from the night before. She recalled a sign in front of the club with the words "Midnight Horizon" printed on it in bold. With the memory of her little...erm..."Dance of Destruction" to the song "Objection," she groaned with fear.  
  
"Yes, I do, and I'm sorry," Areina replied finally. "I'll pay for whatever damage was caused, I promise."  
  
"Hm? Damage....?" the voice responded with skepticism. "We were only calling because we wanted to offer you a job!"  
  
"What?" Areina exclaimed as her voice cracked once again from the tears.  
  
"We enjoyed the little performance you gave so much that we've decided to offer you a singing job at the club. The hours are from 7:30 PM to 1:30 AM, and the pay is $10.00 an hour. You'll need to bring in your own songs to sing, and we'd be very pleased if you could accept this offer. Benefits include..."  
  
But Areina had stopped listening. She whooped very loudly for joy and started bouncing up and down on her bed, overjoyed at this sign that her dreams may have finally begun to happen. 


	8. Showers and Stages

Disclaimer:  
  
Okay, I'm going to test a side-plot in this chapter, and so the chapter will be a semi-song fiction. Please tell me whether or not you want the later chapters to end the way this chapter ends (with a song - or two). Your opinion as the readers is important to me, so please review and tell me if you want me to continue.  
  
Recently, there have been certain outrages about NC-17 fictions and how Fan Fiction.Net should not be censoring them. In regards to these issues, I'd like to state that I am for NC-17 fictions, and I feel that it is silly for the site to ban them. NC-17 fictions are simply another level at which authors express themselves. Writing is not meant to be censored, nor is it meant to be "safe." It is a way for people to voice out their opinions and express themselves, and self-expression isn't always pretty. Self- expression is, however, what makes America, and many other parts of Modern Society, a great and powerful entity.  
  
Now that we have the serious stuff out of the way, I'd like to thank all my Reviewers (sniff!), but most importantly, I'd like to thank the person who has reviewed this story the most: Nikoyru Kaoru! For you, Nikoyru, here's a GIANT KISS FROM DUO!!!  
  
(Duo walks in and gives Nikoyru a slobbery wet kiss on the lips, walks back to the set of "Her")  
  
Um, okay, now that I've got all of that out of my system, I'd like to say that I own none of the lyrics in this chapter, and I definitely do not own any of the characters (aside from Areina). With that out of the way, LET THE TORTURE CONTINUE!  
  
  
  
  
  
Showers and Stages  
  
Relena was filing her nails on the love seat to his right, and Areina was across from him, fidgeting nervously while holding a CD in her hands - one of the very old kinds, four inches in diameter with the plastic case. Heero smirked, inwardly smiling at this rare sight.  
  
"Are you sure you can find a player for that thing?" Heero mocked as he doubtfully pointed to the object she was continually staring at.  
  
"Don't you worry," Areina shot back in an equally smug tone.  
  
"What I don't get is why she's been staring at it for the past half an hour," Relena stated, still gazing at her nails as she continued to file them.  
  
"Well," Areina started, peering at the girl on her left. "If some people wouldn't HOG THE SHOWER ALL DAY LONG-*cough TROWA AND QUATRE cough*-" she yelled in the frustration that they had all learned to be purely Areina.  
  
"Quit your whining," Heero commented wryly. "Don't get mad at them for getting hot just because you can't find a man!"  
  
"What about you?" a clearly angry Areina spat back. "Going to clubs every night and not ever getting even one guy -"  
  
"At least men find me appealing," Heero said in his normal, dull tone.  
  
"I smell a catfight," Relena whispered in a high-pitch through clenched teeth.  
  
Areina rolled her eyes, fed up with it all. "That's it! Quatre and Trowa must be done by now, and if not, then TOO BAD!" With that, she got up and stepped sharply to the bathroom door, knocking once before entering swiftly.  
  
"I think Areina doesn't know what she's getting herself into," Heero intoned with sarcasm.  
  
Relena looked up from her nails, giving Heero the grin that told him she had a mischievous idea in her mind. - - -  
  
Areina stepped into a steam-filled bathroom with a bit of nervousness. Her ears perked to the sound of short, muffled moans. She gasped with horror, knowing what she had gotten herself into.  
  
She turned around to escape - and found herself face to face with a closed door! She grasped the knob and desperately tried to turn it, only to find that something outside was stopping it from rotating! Peering under the door, she saw the legs of a chair, and two large feet hanging from it.  
  
"Heero, you perverted jerk!" she yelled through the door. She brought a hand to her mouth, realizing that Trowa and Quatre had probably heard her. She listened closely, hearing no moaning noises, but instead the sliding of the shower door and the pitter-patter of wet feet against the linoleum floor. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for a big scolding.  
  
"What's going-?" a familiar, gentle voice demanded as the feet stopped. Areina winced under her closed eyelids.  
  
- - -  
  
Quatre blinked, standing there dripping wet. He peered down to see a kneeled person curled within itself, hiding their eyes. Long green hair flowed from the figure at his feet-  
  
Gasping at a sudden realization of who this was, the blonde boy covered his crotch as he let out a loud shout. "AREINA?"  
  
Trowa walked up behind him, hugging his lover around the waist. "What's the matter?"  
  
Quatre pointed agitatedly to the green-haired girl on the floor, and Trowa followed his finger to spot the quivering young beauty.  
  
"HOLY CRAP!" Trowa yelped at the sight of Areina. The girl lifted up her head, a nervous grin plastered on her face as she kept her eyes closed.  
  
"Heh heh heh," Areina giggled tensely, her voice cracking with each sound. "Hi."  
  
"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Quatre screamed at the blushing Canadian. Snickers could be heard from behind the door.  
  
"I," Areina said as she stood up and opened her eyes cautiously, seeing the two boys in front of her covering their-erm-"belongings." "I was waiting for you two to hurry up in here, so I could take a shower. I'm really sorry."  
  
"WELL YOU SHOULD BE!" Quatre howled angrily as Trowa went into the steam and retrieved two towels.  
  
'Well, others in this apartment need hot water too, you know," Areina snapped furiously as she turned around and waited for the two to quickly put towels over their bottom halves.  
  
"You could have just asked," Quatre responded harshly, his face a shade of dark red that was quite out of place for Quatre. The two in towels left the room, leaving Areina alone once more.  
  
- - -  
  
"I can't believe her," Duo said in agreement with Trowa and Quatre. He and Hilde sat cozily next to each other on the blue carpet, while Trowa and Quatre, still in only towels were paired on a love seat across from them. Heero was leaning against the wall, listening to the discussion and putting in his two cents whenever he thought it necessary.  
  
"I am really starting to dislike her," Trowa replied with anger in his voice. "Why does she insist on being so mad all of the time? And why is her anger always directed toward men?"  
  
"Maybe she's a lesbian," Heero stated calmly as the others gaped at his remark.  
  
"No way," Hilde said argumentatively, although she had to admit that it did make sense. After all, Areina not only seemed to hate even mildly chauvinistic comments, but she also didn't seem to be physically attracted to any of the men in the apartment, which was quite awkward, since she personally found all of them very handsome.  
  
Areina entered the room, and the discussion was briefly silenced as she trotted by, holding a towel and a CD player in her hands. She opened the bathroom door and promptly entered, shutting the door behind her with a rough slam.  
  
"And another thing," Quatre began, continuing the conversation. "Why is she always slamming doors here and there?"  
  
"She needs a man," Duo replied sarcastically with a smile. They all chuckled at his joke, like they always did. They heard water begin to run, and the laughter died down.  
  
"And after lying to us all," Duo continued, bringing the date situation back into play. "She still hasn't apologized. I'm beginning to wonder if she-."  
  
He stopped his speech abruptly, and perked his ears to a far off sound. They all mimicked him, and realized that, underneath the splashing of the shower water, faint music could be heard.  
  
A Motown beat could be heard, and some voices soon echoed lightly from the bathroom:  
  
If you need me, call me No matter where you are, no matter how far Just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry, you don't have to worry  
  
The five in the living room couldn't help but move slightly to the light beat of the cheery music. But suddenly, a voice loud and powerful came over the music and the water - and entered their ears.  
  
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough," Areina sung with a schoolgirl joy in her voice. They could hear her dancing around in the shower, and smiled to each other adoringly. "Ain't No Valley Low Enough, Ain't No River Wide Enough, To Keep Me From Getting To You, Babe."  
  
They all grinned at the sound of this gorgeous voice reverberating with a lively soul from the bathroom.  
  
- - -  
  
Trowa got up and walked to the bathroom after everyone had split apart and gone about their separate duties. Areina still hadn't come from the bathroom, but since he heard a hair-drier through the door, he supposed that she had clothes on.  
  
As he swung the door open, he heard music start up again. This time, however, it was to a different tune. Areina immediately began singing loudly once more, and as she sung the first word, "Stop!" she smacked her hand into Trowa's face in a halting gesture. Trowa cried out in surprise and pain as his nose throbbed painfully.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina spun around to find Trowa gazing at her toweled body. "Trowa!" she yelped, half-sorry and half-afraid that he had seen her in her birthday suit.  
  
"Don't worry," Trowa replied, his voice altered as he clenched his nose. "I'm gay, remember? I won't look at your body like that."  
  
"Sorry," Areina sighed as she turned off the drier to let her dripping green hair sag. "Gut reaction."  
  
Trowa nodded as he dropped his hand from his nose. "Although...the human body is a beautiful thing..."  
  
Areina blinked and peered at him warily. "But, you're gay! You don't look at girls..."  
  
"Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I can't enjoy the female body," Trowa said as he lowered the deafening volume of her CD player. "Sure, I don't enjoy seeing a woman as much as I enjoy seeing a man, but I love witnessing both. Because the human body, whether male or female, is a gorgeous work of art."  
  
Areina nodded in agreement, and stared quizzically at Trowa. Those eyes were unreadable. Did Trowa hate her for that day she spent playing piano with Quatre? Or had he shrugged it off?  
  
Either way, he must not be too fond now, seeing as she barged in on the romance him and his love were sharing in the shower.  
  
"What is it?" Trowa asked with a note of concern.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Areina replied dazedly, shaking off her emotional insecurities. "I just forgot about something."  
  
She had meant for this to be a lie, but she tightened her lips as she remembered that she actually had forgotten something! She squeezed past Trowa and ran around the doorway. Stopping suddenly, she skipped back, grabbed her CD player and clothes, kissed a shocked Trowa on the cheek, and ran into her room to change quickly.  
  
- - -  
  
Hilde and Duo sat on the window deck, hand in hand, and stared at the breathtaking sunset.  
  
"It's so beautiful," Hilde said, breaking the knowing silence between them.  
  
"Like you," Duo whispered softly in her ear as she giggled at the air blown against her cheek. Duo turned her head to face him, and his lips embraced hers in a simple kiss, not wet, not hot, not passionate, but a simple kiss. After a few seconds, their lips broke the bond, and Hilde stared into Duo's eyes.  
  
"Want to go to a dance club tonight?" Duo blurted out of the blue with a grin.  
  
"Well, gee Duo," Hilde said reluctantly as she scratched her shoulder with irritation. "I'm kind of tired, and I was thinking maybe..."  
  
Her voice trailed off as he brought his finger to her lips, hushing her voice. "Then we go?"  
  
"Well, I don't know..."  
  
"We go," Duo commanded cheerfully.  
  
"Duo!" a cry from inside called. "Do you have a sec?" It was Areina.  
  
Duo sighed as he stood up. "Just a minute!" He peered down at Hilde apologetically, and sprinted into the house once again.  
  
"Where are you?" he hollered into the air, running through each room aimlessly.  
  
"In my room," Areina replied back with a yell. Duo made his way to the bedroom that Relena and Areina shared. He opened the door and slowly closed it behind him.  
  
The floor was covered with clothes, as usual. Duo noted that Areina's pillow was somewhat soggy, but he decided to forget it for now. Instead, he focused on Areina, who looked particularly stunning.  
  
She was wearing a sweater that slunk underneath her shoulder, revealing exposed and slightly tanned skin. Under the sweater she was wearing a thin dress that slicked tightly around her legs. Her hair hung to the top of her buttocks, in a dazzling maze of curls. She was very appealing in the light of the room.  
  
Suddenly she became very active, and sat Duo firmly in front of a mirror on the right side of the room.  
  
Just as quickly, she began undoing his braid! This was the one thing Duo hated so much that he would go into a horrible rage - worse than that time Quatre went crazy.  
  
"What are you do-oh," Duo began nervously. The 'oh' had been a sigh of undeniable pleasure as she began combing his hair in her hands, relaxing his tense muscles.  
  
Chills ran across the catwalk of his spine as Areina continued what felt like a slow, sensual massage of his hair and head. He closed his eyes, easing into the moment and wishing he had enough nerve to turn around and kiss her everywhere he could think of. He rapidly shook these thoughts out of his mind, remembering Hilde.  
  
"You have to look good for tonight!" Areina exclaimed cheerily as a look of shock came over Duo's face.  
  
TONIGHT? Could she have really meant that they were going to...release their earthly passions...tonight? Duo panicked and his muscles tensed again.  
  
"Relax," Areina whispered softly in his ear. Duo eased his muscles once more, taking in the pleasure of her hands against his hair.  
  
"I wish I had hair like yours, Duo," Areina said enviously. "So soft and smooth. Unlike my hair, which may as well be a nest of hissing vipers for how hard it is to style."  
  
Duo let out a charmed giggle as he stared at himself in the mirror.  
  
- - -  
  
"Why are we here again?" a tired Hilde shouted over the music echoing throughout the club.  
  
"Areina said she had a surprise for us," Quatre replied at the same volume.  
  
This had better be good, Hilde thought to herself with irritation. And where is Duo?  
  
A man came to the stage, its curtains still covering what was behind him.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the man shouted grandly into the microphone. "Allow me to introduce to you the newest singing sensation, our latest and greatest performer, Ms. Areina Sitshonen!"  
  
- - -  
  
Duo gazed over at Areina with anticipation, and noticed a sudden look of fear in her eyes as the curtains came up. She froze in place, and Duo knew that he had to do something fast.  
  
- - -  
  
Heero stood in shock at an unbraided Duo. No one ever got to touch Duo's braid, and if you even tried to undo it, unless you were Hilde, he'd chop your head off!  
  
Areina stood frozen in place, staring at the crowd, which was getting quite impatient.  
  
Suddenly, Duo's voice shot through the microphone and the rest of the crowd, not melodious, but not bad, either.  
  
"Ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough for me baby," Duo sang into the microphone, shaking his hips playfully as he shot a smile to Areina. The girl grinned back at him nervously.  
  
"Just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry," Areina sung back, her voice sounding like a harp. "You don't have to worry."  
  
Both of them began singing together, dancing lightly onstage. "Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough," Duo bumped the side of his hip against hers playfully, and she loosened up quickly. Although Hilde and Duo were a great couple, Areina and Duo definitely had a great chemistry going on between each other. "To keep me from getting to you babe."  
  
"I remember the day I set you free," Areina continued, now much less nervous and gliding across the stage. "I told you, you could always count on me," The two pairs of Quatre and Trowa and Relena and Hilde bounced happily on the dance floor. "From that day on, I made a vow," she crooned as she and Duo shook their hips while leaning back and forth. "I'll be there when you want me, some way, some how."  
  
They commenced into the chorus once again, Areina shaking in her sweater and dress as Duo moving his hips cheerfully to the beat. They continuously grinned and pointed at each other, and Heero couldn't help but begin to dance to the soulful lyrics and pop beat.  
  
Suddenly, the music stopped and slowed, as Areina pulled her sweater from her body to reveal the one-strapped top of her black dress.  
  
"Looking out on the morning rain, I used to feel so uninspired," Areina hummed with a soulful melody as she slowly walked to a smiling Duo. "And when I knew I had to face another day, Lord it made me feel so tired."  
  
Heero remembered hearing this song once, and had no idea how Areina had such a vast knowledge of musical history. He gazed at the couples dancing slowly on the floor, smiling inside.  
  
"Before the day I met you, life was so unkind, but you gave me my peace of mind," her voice grew in volume as she continued with the soulful ballad.  
  
"Cause you make me feel, you make me feel, you make me fell like a natural Woman," her voice never ceased to increase in soul, and never decreased in beauty. It vibrated the dance floor like a soft, soothing earthquake, and almost made Heero want to cry. Almost.  
  
However, just as the music had started, it seemed, it all stopped. There was a hush over the crowd as even Duo stared at Areina curiously.  
  
"Hit it!" she shouted to the drummers as she tore off the bottom half of her dress to reveal tight bellbottom jeans. A fast tempo overtook the floor, and everyone stared at the stage to see what would happen. Duo simply gazed at Areina nervously.  
  
"What you want," she sung with a humongous volume that seemed to swallow the whole dance floor. She began advancing rapidly on a frightened Duo. "Baby I got it. What you need, don't you know I got it," her voice rang as she pointed and glared at Duo. Heero supposed that this was her way of relieving the tension between them, but he also supposed that Duo didn't suppose this.  
  
"All I'm asking, is for a little respect when you come home," she continued as she stepped fiercely next to Duo, pushing him lightly. "Hey baby, when you come home," she glared at Duo once again before going into the chorus of the song. Relena and Hilde cheered for their independent friend, swaying back and forth in rhythm.  
  
"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me," she sung soulfully with a fire of anger in her throat. "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take out the TCP, OH, a little respect," she hummed as she stepped once more to Duo, causing to fall on his back in shock.  
  
Heero was amazed, but he was actually enjoying the performance. The six on the dance floor: Quatre, Trowa, himself, Relena, Hilde, even Wufei, were all dancing rapturously to the beat.  
  
"R-E-S-P-E-C-T!" 


	9. The Beach

Disclaimer: Yay! My story is loved!!! Just keep on reviewing please, I am LOVING it! yay, Yay. YAY!!!!! (forgive me, blonde moment) Ahem, ANYWAY! Onto the story! Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
  
  
  
The Beach  
  
  
  
The sun flashed burningly in Wufei's eyes as he lay on the beach, tanning next to Relena and Hilde. As Areina, Quatre, Trowa and Duo frolicked joyfully with a splash-fight in the water, Heero danced in the shack, flirting with every single guy he liked.  
  
However, Cheng's thoughts were focused on something far more meaningful than all of this nonsense. Sally would come that night, to meet Areina and to see them all again. It would be the first time she would see them all, aside from Wufei himself, ever since the wars had ended. The black-haired youth grinned dreamily at the thought of his gorgeous Sally walking through the door of the apartment, a radiant smile on her perfect face.  
  
He sighed happily, not noticing Areina and the three boys running playfully from the shoreline.  
  
- - -  
  
Relena peered sarcastically over her sunglasses, wondering why the four had stopped their childish little antics to come over and ruin their tanning. "What is it?"  
  
"Aren't you lazy bums going to get up and enjoy yourself?" Areina teased as she giggled heartily. Her white beach-skirt blew in the wind, revealing her long, smooth thighs. The top of her bathing suit shined in the sun, a dark blue streaked with a white stripe in the center. "It's a great day, and the water's fine! Come on, you're wasting your lives out here on the beach!"  
  
Hilde peered at Areina's body, the color of cashews. "Easy to say for someone who has a perfect tan."  
  
Areina shrugged as she ran back into the water with Duo, Quatre and Trowa on her tail. Relena suddenly noticed how small Trowa's and Quatre's bathing suits were: the hot pants were blue and pink, respectively. Relena cringed at the sight of these suits, which revealed practically everything. She dropped the sunglasses over her eyes once more, feeling nausea come over her automatically.  
  
- - -  
  
Heero ran into the water with an unusual smile on his face. What made him so happy?  
  
"Guess what?" Heero called out with a very awkward enthusiasm - especially for him.  
  
"What's got you so perky?" Areina chuckled as she splashed Duo roughly.  
  
"I've got a date," Heero chirped.  
  
All four of the others in the water froze immediately, staring with shock at the young Japanese who wore baggy shorts. "You? A date?" They all exclaimed in chorus.  
  
Heero's serious expression came over his face again at this question. "Is that so hard to believe?"  
  
"Well," Duo commented, suppressing a grin. "It's just that you never have 'dates.' You just bring home any guy you find for a quickie, and the next day usually forget all about him!"  
  
Heero lunged quickly at Duo, only stopped by a unanimous effort from Quatre, Trowa and Areina to hold him back.  
  
"Well, this is more long-term," Heero growled at a teasing Duo. "Seeing as he's coming with us tonight to see Areina perform."  
  
"What?" Areina squeaked nervously. "Yet another audience member that I'll know?" She winced at the thought.  
  
"Get over it," Heero said with a smirk and a roll of his eyes.  
  
- - -  
  
All three of the girls had gone into the room that Areina and Relena shared, leaving the five Gundam pilots alone in the living room. Soon, Heero had gone to weight-lift, and Duo following to spar with him.  
  
Trowa and Quatre sat in a love seat with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, while Wufei sat alone on another love seat while reading the newspaper.  
  
"So what do you suppose Areina's coming up with for tonight's performance?" Quatre said to the young man under his arm.  
  
"Whatever it is," Trowa replied with a grin, "it couldn't top last night's performance."  
  
Areina stepped out of her room, followed by Hilde and then Relena. Hilde and Relena seemed to be reviewing something together, mouthing words to each other.  
  
As Quatre spotted Areina once more, his thoughts turned to her once more. He didn't understand: How could someone so gorgeous and sympathetic turn out to be so fierce and vigorous at times? He had never seen something so unique. No one else in the apartment had such a double- personality.  
  
Shaking these thoughts from his head, he heard the doorbell ring. Wufei sprung out of his seat and leapt for the door, twisting the handle with lightning speed.  
  
From the doorway emerged a young woman with shoulder-length, pale- blonde hair and a simple tank top and jeans on her body. She smiled slyly at the sight of her stern Wufei, who eased quickly when he saw her.  
  
"Hey," Sally intoned gently. "Long time no see, eh?"  
  
Wufei's eyebrows nodded at the site of her. "Sadly, yes."  
  
Sally giggled, pulling Wufei into a quick kiss. However, noticing the others behind him, she pulled away just as quickly.  
  
"Hey everyone," Sally greeted them warmly. Her eyes peered around the room, obviously noticing no change in any of them. Her eyes stopped and lingered upon Areina. "And who is this little beauty you haven't mentioned, Cheng?"  
  
Quatre smiled inwardly, knowing that Sally was the only person who got away with calling Wufei by his first name.  
  
"Sally, meet Areina," Wufei said with the uncharacteristic grin that he wore when Sally was around, as he gestured gleefully to a shy-looking Areina.  
  
"Nice name," Sally said with a nod as she shook Areina's hand. She looked Areina over from head to toe, and after a pause, continued. "You straight guys are sure lucky. She's quite a cutie." Areina blushed wildly at this comment. "However, a bit too shy."  
  
"Oh, believe me," Duo guffawed as he walked out of the weight room with Heero, stepping behind the young Canadian. "She's a lot of things, but shy she's not."  
  
"Well, forgive me for interrupting the introductions," Areina said, intercepting the greetings. "But I need four brave boys to come help me out with an act for the show."  
  
"I'll go," Duo and Quatre peeped simultaneously.  
  
Trowa shrugged and nodded, deciding to join because Quatre had. "Why not? Might be fun."  
  
Wufei and Heero stood firmly, neither one willing to help out.  
  
"Oh, come on," Areina said desperately. "I need four or the dancing windows won't be balanced!"  
  
Wufei gulped, nervously squeaking, "Dancing?"  
  
"Go ahead, Cheng," Sally said encouragingly as puppy dog eyes formed upon her face. "For me?" Her arms sneaked around his shoulders as she gave him a pleading look.  
  
Wufei practically melted, and surrendered. "Okay."  
  
"Oh, thank you, Sally," Areina piped with a smile. "I could kiss you!"  
  
Quatre noticed Heero giving everyone but Areina a suspicious look, and recalled his lesbian theory.  
  
Quatre considered it, but shook his head as he followed Areina and the three other boys who had volunteered into the bathroom, since it had a mirror large enough for all of them to see each other.  
  
- - -  
  
After Sally had gotten a good idea of what Areina was like from Cheng, Hilde and Relena, they had all gone to the club where Areina was performing. The other girls and the four boys who had volunteered as dancers dropped away from the group, leaving Sally alone with Heero and his date.  
  
The man Heero had brought had short brown hair and clear blue eyes. He and Heero held hands as the group passed a large sign with a picture of a woman who looked like Marilyn Monroe on it. Under the portrait, the words "Madonna Night" flashed in neon lights.  
  
They stepped into the flashing club to find the stage being set up while crowds danced gleefully to the beat.  
  
Sally smiled at the thought of a feminist Canadian living with the Gundam pilots and their friends. Either Areina would get a quick shot at how stupid it was to try and change the boys, or everyone in the apartment would get a quick shot at how chauvinistic some of the boys really were. War will be waged, Sally contemplated to herself sarcastically as a dry grin wrapped around her face.  
  
The stage lights burned brightly above the crowd, signaling everyone on the floor to stop dancing and look up at the man onstage.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," the man shrieked into the microphone. "The Midnight Horizon is proud to present to you, for the second night ever, Ms. Areina Sitshonen!"  
  
Suddenly Areina's face popped from the curtain, and she whispered something in the man's ear before popping back into the curtain just as quickly as she had come out.  
  
"Oh, excuse me," the man said apologetically to the crowd. "That's Areina!"  
  
And with that, the curtain opened, revealing the set of Areina's performance.  
  
- - -  
  
Heero stopped flirting with his date and quickly turned to the stage, anxious to see if Areina could top her last performance.  
  
Upon the stage, all that could be seen in the spotlight was Areina, who had her back turned to the audience and was wearing a blue robe that appeared like the kind one would wear if one was in a church's gospel choir. Tonight her hair was straight, with blonde stripes appearing here and there. Her hand dug in her robe's pocket, and Heero noticed heavenly sounding chime music from the background.  
  
"Life is a mystery," Areina sung in a surprisingly soft, melodic tone that inspired Heero almost immediately. The tempo of the music was soft, and Heero sighed at the thought of not being able to dance quickly to Areina's singing.  
  
"Everyone must stand alone," Areina continued smoothly and gently. "I hear you call my name.  
  
"And it feels like home!" Areina sang suddenly loudly and energetically, bringing the music into a new tempo as the lights fell upon the rest of the stage in a blur of yellow. Relena and Hilde were revealed behind Areina, in matching robes and singing the chorus with her like a choir. They moved almost like background singers for a cheap fifties band as Areina turned to face the audience with a joyous grin.  
  
"When you call my name, it's like a little prayer," Areina sang with Relena and Hilde to create a sound that was both heavenly and festive and sent the crowd into a dancing fit. "I'm down on my knees, I want to take you there.  
  
"In the midnight hour," Areina continued, lifting her arms to the light in unison with Relena and Hilde. "I can feel your power," she intoned loudly as she clapped rhythmically with her two background singers. "Just like a prayer, you know I'll take you there."  
  
Areina continued as Relena and Hilde froze quickly. "Like a child you whisper softly to me," Areina chanted into the microphone as she closed her eyes and the music slowed once more. "You're in control just like a child.  
  
"Now I'm dancing!" she resonated as the chorus began again and Relena and Hilde reanimated themselves. They continued with the chorus, and began with the climax of the song.  
  
"Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there," Areina hummed into the microphone, now in a commanding tone. "Just like a muse to me, you are a mystery. Just like a dream, you are not what you seem."  
  
Relena and Hilde began sneaking offstage as she finished. "Just like a prayer, no choice your voice can take me there."  
  
With her last note, the music abruptly stopped and Areina was flooded in darkness once more. After a few seconds, the lights came back on, revealing Areina onstage. Her robe was off, and in its place she now wore a black tank top that fit tightly to her body and had jewels lining its neck. Her pants, however, were the awkward part about her outfit. They were cutoff pants, the kind you could zip the bottom halves off of anytime you liked to make them shorts. One leg was cut off to reveal her leg from the knee down, while the other leg of the pants was entirely intact and covered down to her ankle. She wore the cut off bottom half on her arm like a sleeve, and her high-heeled shoes sparkled red under the light.  
  
"Look around, everywhere you turn is heartache, it's everywhere that you go," Areina's voice echoed loudly and jubilantly throughout the club. "You try everything you can to escape the pain of life that you know."  
  
Areina swayed her hips gently to the song, just enough to be noticed. The beat encouraged Heero to dance, and when Areina moved her hips like this, he could bear it no longer. Grabbing his date's hand, he rushed into the dance crowd.  
  
"When all else fails and you long to be something better than you are today," Areina's voice screamed gorgeously around the club in rhythm with the flashing lights. "I know a place where you can get away. It's called a dance floor, and here's what it's for, so -"  
  
Heero felt a bump behind him, and turned to see Relena and Hilde. They smiled at him before commencing into dancing.  
  
"Come on, Vogue," Areina sang as her hips began to shake and twist seductively. "Let your body move to the music, hey, hey, hey." She danced smoothly on the stage, causing the crowd to scream with applause in response.  
  
"Come on, Vogue. Let your body go with the flow," She hummed as her hand jolted over her head, leaning into the shake of her hips. "You know you can do it.  
  
"Vogue."  
  
- - -  
  
As Relena argued with herself over who was hotter; Heero or his date, she heard the music stop and the lights fade once more. Almost immediately the lights came back on to reveal Areina in the same clothes, only with a black cowboy hat on and her cutoff pants fully reassembled.  
  
Relena jeered at the sudden change of background performers. Duo, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei stood behind Areina in black leather cowboy pants. They stood in brown boots and only wore open, tight black vests on their shoulders, revealing their bare chests. They wore cowboy hats, and their heads were down so that no one could see their faces. Their hands hung in their pockets, cowboy fashion like Areina's.  
  
"Don't tell me to stop," Areina sang lightly but forcefully at the same time. She stood perfectly still aside from the tapping of her thighs. "Tell the rain not to drop. Tell the wind not to blow, cause you said so.  
  
"Mmhm," she hummed as she swayed to these last two syllables. Her face was perfectly straight as she continued. However, she began to move, chopping her thigh to the beat with two fingers.  
  
"Tell the sun not to shine, not to get up this time, no, no. Let it fall by the way, but don't leave me where I lay down."  
  
Areina continued to sway to the symphonic orchestra music that followed. All at once, the four boys behind her began to move, stepping to the left and right. "Tell me love isn't true it's just something that we do," Areina continued alone. Then, her and the four boys began into a complex series of foot cross-covers and twirls as her voice continued. "Tell me everything I'm not but, please don't tell me to stop." They swayed on these last six words.  
  
"Tell the bed not to lay, like a open mouth of a grave, yeah," Areina began again as she took off her hat and rolled it from one shoulder to the other. "Not to stare up at me." Wufei then walked up next to Areina like a cowboy and bent down to kneel on his knees as she turned to face him. She placed her cowboy hat on his and rotated his head with each word. "Like a calf down on its knees." Upon the word knees, Areina pushed Wufei's head back sharply, causing him to fall on his back.  
  
The chorus began once more, while Areina and the three boys who remained standing grabbed their hats and twirled them in their hands. Next, they placed the hats back on their heads and began some intricate cowboy footwork. The finished the chorus by swinging their hands over their heads in particular western fashion.  
  
"Don't you ever," Areina began as Duo waltzed over to her, trying to look buff and macho. "Please don't, please don't," Areina sung as she and Duo rubbed their upper halves together suggestively to the beat, just before Areina placed her hat on Duo's chest and pushed him to the ground. "Please don't tell me to stop."  
  
Quatre and Trowa both stepped to Areina's sides and mimicked her footwork. "Don't you," she began as Quatre placed his hand around her right shoulder. "Ever," she continued as Trowa placed his hand on her left hip. "Don't ever tell me to stop," she sang as she took each of their hats off and pushed them both down from the front.  
  
The music halted, followed by a pause and then a loud scream of approval from the ecstatic audience. 


	10. Braided

Disclaimer: Yay! Updates! I know you all like updates! So, without further ado (?), here we go! Oh, and the song lyrics in this chapter don't even belong to me! They're owned by Janis Ian, Toni Braxton, and Mariah Carey (yes in that order!)  
  
  
  
Braided  
  
They were all so damn perfect.  
  
Every one of them: None of them had acne, none of them had money problems, none of them had hard times finding romance, none of them were unpopular, none of them even farted! It was like living in a house full of every insecurity problem in the world!  
  
Areina punched her pillow again, knowing that if it were alive, it'd be bruised. It was the fifth night in a row that she hadn't gotten any sleep, and again for the same reason. Hilde and Duo were together, Quatre and Trowa were in love, Wufei had his Sally, and even Heero had found a boy! Aside from herself, the only other single person in the apartment was Relena, and God knew she could find love easily.  
  
She hated it. Areina didn't think she could take being surrounded by these disgustingly faultless people while she was looking for success!  
  
She sighed, her head flopping back helplessly on the pillow.  
  
- - -  
  
Sally smeared the peanut butter onto the paper-like white bread. With the amount of noise coming from Duo and Hilde's bedroom, sleep was impossible. She shrugged and stuffed the bread into her mouth in one motion.  
  
She nearly spat it back out when she heard footsteps outside the kitchen. She warily got a knife out of the cupboard and readied it.  
  
As the door eased open, Sally threw the knife on instinct. As the blade left her hand, she realized all too late that Areina had been her target! She closed her eyes in fright, knowing the horrible consequences of her nerves.  
  
However, upon not hearing a cold and hollow bang on the ground from a dead body, she cautiously opened her eyes.  
  
Areina stood in the doorway, with the knife blade in her hand.  
  
Sally would have apologized sooner, but she was too shocked. "How...How did you do that?"  
  
The Canadian whose face was awkwardly red shrugged. "Standard training from where I come from."  
  
Sally nodded frightfully. If this girl was fast enough to catch a flying knife from that distance, her possibilities on the battlefield were...  
  
Sally shook these silly thoughts from her head. "I'm sorry," she began. "It's just that I'm so used to the war that sometimes I have...episodes."  
  
Areina nodded in acceptance. The girl sat down sleepily, looking like she would nod off any moment.  
  
"So what's your history with men?" Sally questioned, trying to change the subject. "Aside from hating them, I mean."  
  
"I do not hate them!" Areina shot back sharply, a liveliness suddenly springing in her eyes. Sally had touched upon a tender subject, and winced at her own stupidity.  
  
"I mean, how have relationships been in the past for you?"  
  
"Not so good," Areina replied dully as the sleepiness came back.  
  
"Really?" Sally responded. Although she did not find it in any way surprising: Women with her beauty were often unappreciated by men. "What's the most you've ever done?"  
  
Areina flinched at this. Another touchy subject, Sally thought as she mentally kicked herself.  
  
"A hug," Areina mumbled with embarrassment.  
  
Sally sputtered, then regained her self-control. "I see," she said, amazed at the response. "...Only a hug?"  
  
"I guess it's because men are afraid of me," Areina began, shrugging disappointedly. "On account of my toughness and the nasty habit I have of biting off the head of anyone who tries anything funny."  
  
Sally nodded in full empathy for the girl. After a few minute, Areina bid the former-lieutenant goodnight, and exited into the hall.  
  
- - -  
  
He wanted a glass of water? Only five minutes had past since they kissed good night, and Trowa wanted a glass of water?  
  
The blonde Arabian muttered sleepily under his breath, and walked through the hall toward the kitchen.  
  
He bumped into something soft and tall, about his height. A forest of green covered his face, and he took a step back to find what he had bumped into.  
  
Areina stood, panting and wide-eyed. She stared at him through the moonlight from a nearby window. He looked back to see her in her velvety blue robe, the bump revealing a shoulder from underneath the loose fabric. Her silky green eyes sparkled in the light of the moon.  
  
Quatre searched for a word to apologize, but she did so for him in a soft murmur. He nodded, and she sneaked off.  
  
The youth stood in the hall, pondering the event that just took place. He reluctantly admitted to himself that she had looked beautiful, flawless even, and that his eyes had been captivated on hers.  
  
He sluggishly shook these ideas from his head and continued to the kitchen to retrieve his love's beverage.  
  
- - -  
  
Hilde, Sally and Relena had decided to go shopping. Quatre loved to shop for literally anything, so he willingly joined. Trowa therefore had gone as well, and Heero was supposed to be meeting his new man at the mall.  
  
Areina and Wufei didn't like shopping, so they had stayed back. Although Duo enjoyed shopping, he was flat broke, and didn't want Hilde to pay for him.  
  
This left Areina alone with Duo and Wufei. However, the Chinese boy decided to work out in the building's gym.  
  
So now Areina was alone in the apartment with Duo sitting in the love seat across from her. Great, she thought, the one person in the apartment that I fight with the most.  
  
Duo shifted uncomfortably, a very awkward trait for one so flamboyant. He attempted to make eye contact with Areina, but failed miserably each time and had to turn the other way.  
  
"Why so nervous?" Areina said softy.  
  
Duo jumped at the sound of her voice. "I - I'm not nervous..." Duo stuttered. "I just can't get in a good position."  
  
Areina was not an imbecile. She knew that Duo was obviously attracted to her. Although he pretended to hate her through words, his actions spoke deafeningly louder to the point where even a complete knucklehead would have guessed.  
  
This, however, made her quite nervous as well. Duo was nice, but he was crafty. She had to watch her back, or he'd be on it in seconds flat.  
  
"So," Areina began lightly, desperately searching for a different subject. "Am I still considered a guest?"  
  
Duo grinned at the opportunity to make one of his cheesy jokes. Although his childish puns weren't at all humorous, they had a funny way of making anyone laugh. "Of course not!"  
  
Areina giggled tensely, trying not to seem too fidgety. However, the shoe was now on the other foot, and she was in a corner she couldn't get out of.  
  
A few more tight moments of silence filled the air that surrounded them, until, finally, Duo blurted something out.  
  
"Areina, I have to tell you something," Duo said in a hesitant voice. "I..."  
  
"Yes?" Areina inquired.  
  
"I...there's this thing. I can't for the life of me describe it, but there's this...mild...okay, maybe not mild, more like Emergency-Room hot..."  
  
This was quite strange. Duo never had a loss of words, even in the furious arguments they were always involved in.  
  
"Attraction that I have, for you I mean."  
  
Although Areina had expected this, it still came as a surprise. She hadn't expected him to come out so openly and quickly. Then again, that was the only way to come out, wasn't it?  
  
Duo's breath was labored as he stood and edged toward her chair. She stood up, trying to escape the situation. His eyes were now fully locked with hers, a strange flare in them that was rarely seen.  
  
"I love you," Duo murmured, leaning in for a kiss.  
  
Areina's virgin alarm went on berserk as her lips leapt out of the reach of Duo's. "Whoa! Easy there, tiger!"  
  
Duo's face was at first shocked. Then, in the blink of an eye, an idea seemed to come to him. His lips curled into a sly grin. A low purr arose from the back of his throat. He took a step toward her, and she backed away, out of the door to the room.  
  
She was now in the main room, with a recliner, a television and a couch. Duo stepped through the same door, following her with a sly, cat-like smile on his face.  
  
This could not be good.  
  
As he stalked her further, step after fierce step, his purrs grew into low growls. She gasped for air and began moving backward again. Stumbling, she fell into the recliner, whose footrest promptly flopped up. She drowned desperately in a combination of desire and abstinence, trying to catch her breath.  
  
Duo leaned over her, his hands on either arm of the chair. It made Areina even more nervous to know that all he wore was his boxers, and she only her robe.  
  
Duo's growls were now savage roars, and his knees had found their way beside hers. Now fully upon the recliner - and nearly upon her - his roars lowered once again to growls. As he leaned in to kiss her, they became purrs once more.  
  
His lips grazed hers briefly, and attacked for a full-throttle kiss.  
  
Their lips seemed to dance feverishly against one another, an expression of their anger and undeniable love for one another.  
  
As he broke the silent promise, the braided boy reached slowly for her robe's opening.  
  
Virgin alarms once again on full alert, Areina quickly slashed the horribly delightful dream-like romance, grabbing his hand sharply.  
  
"Duo, stop!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Maybe you don't remember, but you have a girlfriend! Her name's Hilde, not Areina."  
  
"But you have no idea how much I need this," he sighed in a low, weak moan. "Don't you, too?"  
  
"I," Areina began hesitantly. "I do, but you have Hilde. She's, like, my best friend! It's an unwritten rule that best friends don't kiss other best friends' boyfriends."  
  
Duo began to respond when he heard keys in the doorknob. Jumping off of Areina, he quickly seated himself in the couch just as the door opened.  
  
- - -  
  
The club was dark that night. A sign outside advertised some girl's performance, "Past and Present." Even inside, the lights were barely on.  
  
He'd had a rough day. It was unbelievable! The one techno artist he had finally found - the one that showed individuality, promise, and a great voice - had been caught with a load of drugs in his attic. Danny simply could not believe it.  
  
Now he had to find another singer within the next week, or his job was toast. How could he possibly find a performer with as much talent, as much raw energy as the one before?  
  
Impossible.  
  
Auditions for the next performer to promote hadn't gone too well, either. No one had any talent these days; it was a proven fact! And to find someone was barely possible!  
  
Impossible.  
  
So, he had come to this, his favorite club in this city, to see some good talent. And now all he was getting was a bunch of old people living up the old songs on Karaoke night?  
  
Impossible!  
  
- - -  
  
The third night, and Areina still hadn't worked out the choreography for her performance! Not only was it her third public performance ever, it was also her first solo performance ever. None of her friends would be with her onstage, not even...Duo.  
  
However, the curtain lifted before she could think of anything else.  
  
- - -  
  
Relena watched with anticipation as the curtain rose slowly from the stage. Areina was all that was revealed, the spotlight on only her. Instrumental backup stood behind her - drums, violins, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, and even a piano. The green-haired girl stood onstage in a tastefully tattered pale blue skirt and a white sports bra. Her hair was straight and combed to the right, her bangs covering her right eye. She looked quite homely.  
  
Shyly, she began.  
  
"I learned the truth at Seventeen, that love was just for beauty queens," the first line sounded. Already Relena felt like sobbing. The tone of her voice was so melancholy, a quality that Relena had never seen in the Canadian.  
  
"And high school girls with clear skinned smiles who married young and then retired," she continued. The song seemed to ache and bleed as it was emitted from her lips, a sad and seemingly true tale. "The valentines I never knew, the Friday night charades of youth."  
  
Areina's face was despondent, almost distant, as she went on. "Were spent on one more beautiful, at Seventeen I learned the truth.  
  
"Un-break my heart," Areina began. This song always made Relena cry, and she could feel tears emerge quickly. "Say you'll love me again. Undo this hurt you caused when you walked out the door and walked out of my life."  
  
The sorrow of the voice seemed to increase with each note. It was too much for Relena, who burst into soft sobs immediately. "Un-cry these tears I've cried so many nights. Un-break my heart."  
  
The song burst into the finale as Areina swayed her hips almost painfully to the music. "Un-break my heart, sweet darling.  
  
"Without you I just can't go on," the notes rang. The final word seemed to go for an eternity until Areina ran out of breath and the music stopped.  
  
The entire club was silent, aside from Relena's soft sobs. New music came from the background, and Relena felt more tears come on at the thought of the next sad song.  
  
This song began on a deafeningly loud note by Areina. "If we believe that true love never has to end," the last note of this line was once again held out. "Then we must know that we will love again," she sang with a smooth, soulful flow in her voice. She crooked her head on the last note.  
  
"I still believe," she commenced into the chorus beautifully. The room was almost entirely dissolved by her mellow yet expressive tone. "Someday you and me will find ourselves in love again."  
  
As she sang, she seemed to be looking at someone to the left of Relena. Relena turned to see that Duo was staring straight back into the singer's eyes.  
  
"I had a dream," the lovely girl sang, hitting a high note with a passion in her throat. "Someday you and me," she continued with soul, looking like it pained her to sing.  
  
"Will find ourselves in love again," she finished, ending the song by kneeling on the floor with her hands in her lap.  
  
The audience gave a standing ovation, and mingled sobs could be heard. Relena's were among them, the blonde crying her eyes out.  
  
She turned to her left to find Duo still sitting down, staring at Areina's figure onstage. 


	11. Aqua

Disclaimer: Sorry bout not updating in so long. I've been busy/not paying too much attention to the site. But I'll change! Honest! Also, lyrics in this chapter owned by the amazing Ashanti, the wonderful Amerie and one of the absolute best bands of all time, TLC!!!  
  
Aqua  
  
That night, the fun seemed to never end - at least for the girls!  
  
Emptied bowls of ice cream circled the edges of the bed, along with dozens of chick-flicks. Hilde, Areina, and Relena sat in a circle at the end of the bed, each in their pajamas and with faces covered in lotion. They giggled jubilantly at each other's jokes.  
  
Great, thought Heero blandly, just what I need: A slumber party.  
  
"I know a game!" Hilde shouted above their chatter and laughter. "Truth or dare!"  
  
"Oh no," Areina began. "I do not want to get into this!"  
  
"Aw, is the new girl scared?" Hilde jeered. Areina glared back at her, and accepted.  
  
Deciding that he didn't want to get involved in their childish games, Heero edged toward the back of the room. Suddenly noticing him, Areina pointed and yelled.  
  
"Oh no!" she reprimanded as Heero winced at his revealing. "I'm not enduring this alone! Get over here this instant!"  
  
Heero grunted irritably, and sat down with them. Might as well get it over with.  
  
"First one is for Relena," Hilde began with a sick grin on her face. "Truth or dare?"  
  
After weighing her options, Relena finally decided upon dare. Hilde grinned again; she must have learned it from Duo. "I dare you to...hug Heero!"  
  
Heero winced at the mention of his name, and winced further when Relena gave him a strangling bear hug. He knew he'd puke.  
  
"Okay, my turn!" Relena said, staring Areina down. "Areina; truth or dare?"  
  
"Truth," Areina responded almost immediately.  
  
"Okay," Relena said smoothly, sitting back with a smug look on her face. "Are you a lesbian?"  
  
Heero couldn't believe she had had the gall to ask Areina what they were all wondering. He gazed slack-jawed at her.  
  
Areina, however, was giving the blonde a perverted smile. She stared at the aggressor with a look of sleaze on her face. She took the whole thing as a joke, and grabbed Relena into a kiss that was full of mock- passion. Both withdrew from the kiss, gasping as though from pleasure.  
  
The three girls giggled in unison at Areina's joke. Heero couldn't help but smirk a little himself. It was strange, how much of an affect Areina seemed to have on him. She was the only person in the apartment whose feelings he truly understood, to the point where he felt them with her.  
  
The night continued until the four were far too tired to go on with the charade, and they retired.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, Quatre couldn't decide on what to do. They all chose to stay home, and he sat on the couch in boredom. He was alone in the room, seeing as Duo was in the shower, Hilde and Relena were in the kitchen doing dishes, Wufei and Heero were training in the gym, Trowa was taking a nap, and Areina was preparing for her performance that night.  
  
He was alone, and he hated being alone.  
  
Areina walked in, he supposed to stop and take a break. She stood in a black sweat suit that outlined her figure. She, sweating in the doorway and staring at the floor, once again strangely took Quatre trying to memorize the dance steps. It was like a portrait.  
  
As she glanced up, he quickly turned away, searching for something else to admire. She came to the sofa and drooped over the piece of furniture with a puff of exhausted breath. As she lay to his left, facing up with her eyes closed, Quatre felt a nervous sweat come over him. It was silly, really: Why should he feel so tense when around her? He was gay. It wasn't as if he had some sort of crush on her.  
  
Or did he?  
  
"What are you doing?" Areina asked in between gasps. He glanced at her, trying desperately not to meet her eyes.  
  
"Not much. Just sitting here, waiting for Trowa to wake up," Quatre replied, a strange crack in his voice.  
  
Areina sat up and stared at him. "It's not fair," she said finally after a long pause. "Why does everyone have love in this apartment but me?"  
  
"But you do have love," he replied almost instantaneously. "We all love you. Even if we don't act like it, we're glad that you came into our lives."  
  
Areina shrugged. More pausing occurred. This is stupid, Quatre thought. Why should there be such a strong silence between us? Almost like Relena and Heero...  
  
Oh no, he thought, realizing what this must mean. She has a crush on me!  
  
She finally broke the silence by giving him a warm hug, thanking him for his kind words.  
  
Trowa walked into the room, with a grave look on his face. He shot a raging glare at Quatre.  
  
"What's wrong, baby face?" Quatre inquired of Trowa. "You look like you just lost your best friend."  
  
"Maybe I did." He opened the kitchen door, but Quatre stopped him quickly.  
  
"What's wrong?" Quatre whispered, catching Areina staring at them both out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"You know what's wrong!" Trowa whispered back harshly. "You and Areina. You two are getting nice and cozy, I can see it all. I can't believe you love her!"  
  
"What?" Quatre accidentally yelled. Bringing his voice back to a whisper, he began once again. "Love her? But, Trowa, that's not true, I love you!"  
  
"Frankly, Quatre, I don't know who you love anymore," Trowa sighed as he closed his eyes. "But I know that the way things are going now, we can no longer be in a sexual relationship."  
  
With that, Trowa pushed past Quatre and slammed the kitchen door. Quatre stood in silence.  
  
* * *  
  
Areina had heard it all: The break-up between Quatre and Trowa. Quatre stood at the door, and began giggling quietly to himself. A tone of rage was in his high-pitched giggles, and his gaze slowly met Areina's.  
  
He began suddenly. "I can't believe you! He yelled as he advanced on her. "See what you just did?" He towered over her small form on the couch.  
  
She stood up to meet his eyes. "Excuse me?" she yelled back, even louder than he had. "What did I do?"  
  
"You just threw away the only hope I had left in life!" he screamed back. "It's all your fault!"  
  
"It's not my fault at all!"  
  
"Yes it is!" he retorted with a look of insanity upon his figure. "If you hadn't hugged me, he wouldn't have done that!"  
  
"I didn't mean the hug in any sort of sexual sense!" Areina argued. "It was just a thing between two friends!"  
  
"I hate you!" Quatre shouted as he brought up a fist. In a flash, his hard knuckles crashed into her face, jabbing her lip in fury.  
  
She brought her face back to look into his. She could feel tears sting lightly at her eyes, not from the pain of the blow but from the pain of his anger upon her. She glared into his eyes.  
  
As soon as the rage had begun, it ceased once more. Quatre's eyes became soft, and he looked at Areina apologetically, staring at her swollen lip.  
  
"Oh, is your lip bleeding?" Quatre said quietly, with a tone of sensitivity in his voice. "I'm sorry. Here, let me see..."  
  
He touched her lip softly with his hand, and she flinched under his fingertip. He stared into her eyes. "I'm so sorry."  
  
To examine the wound better, he opened it slightly with his fingers. She knew that she was bleeding. He wiped some of the red liquid of hurt from her lip, and peered more at her wound.  
  
His aquatic blue eyes trailed up her face, and their faces were drawn close. Half in an effort to cleanse her cut, and half out of desire, Quatre brought his lips onto hers.  
  
They shared a slow kiss, their lips lingering. Soon, Areina could feel Quatre's arms embracing her in a warm grasp.  
  
They quickly pulled away from each other, both gasping out of shock. Areina turned slowly, and sprinted back to her room.  
  
* * *  
  
Sally had to leave just before Areina's performance was about to begin. Hilde wasn't surprised that Wufei was now on the verge of tears. She earnestly hoped that Areina's performance would not be as sad as it was last night.  
  
The curtains opened yet again, to reveal Areina standing in a tank top with the wor "Independence" printed on the front and black jeans. Her hair was simply straight, and she stood alone onstage.  
  
"I think I've found my strength to finally get up and leave," she began with a tone of anger in her voice. "No more broken heart for me.  
  
"No more telling your lies to me," she sang, walking from one side of the stage to the other. Oddly enough, the audience did not cheer nearly as much as they usually did on fast songs like this.  
  
"I'm looking like I got my head on right so now I see," she sang, looking ginto the audience in worry. She looked as if she was searching for something, but couldn't find it. "No more giving you everything."  
  
She forgot about whatever she searched for and continued with her look of anger. "There's no more taking my love from me.  
  
"See my days are cold without you, but I'm hurting while I'm with you," she sang loudly into the microphone - which Hilde thought she really didn't need for the whole audience to hear her.  
  
"And although my heart can't take no more, I can't keep running back to you," she sang, no appearing more sad than before. Hilde became worried that the performer would turn to another sorrowful song.  
  
"You must be used to me crying, while you're out bumping and grinding, but I'm leaving you tonight."  
  
The music turned to a cooler, smoother feel of soul. "My friends say that they just can't see," her voice rang, with the background singers echoing her. "How a love unspoken can be so deep."  
  
The audience simply didn't get into her singing tonight. They were beginning to lose interest. "And every time that you look my way, I see what your heart wants to say to me."  
  
She began rolling her shoulders and shaking her hips to the music. "Every time our eyes meet, be talking talking talking talking to me, talking talking talking talking to me." She sang now with a suave tone that was quite captivating, although the rest of the audience didn't seem to think so. "Cause every time be talking talking talking to me, be talking talking talking to me."  
  
The music stopped once again, and she froze with it. A new melody came, and although Hilde had thought she heard it somewhere before, the audience obviously hadn't, and lost interest entirely.  
  
"A lonely mother gazing out of her window staring at her son that she just can't touch," she chimed with a sense of aching on her tongue. "If at any time he's in a jam she'll be by his side but he doesn't realize he hurts her so much."  
  
Hilde could feel the character in the song pictured in her mind, and for some reason she thought of Heero, a young boy who doesn't understand what he has done with his life. "But all the praying just ain't helping at all cause he can't seem to keep his self out of trouble. So he goes out and he makes his money the best way he knows how.  
  
"Another body laying cold in the gutter, listen to me," she hummed with tragedy in her throat. "Don't go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to. I know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all."  
  
She stared at Heero as she sang. He looked back, with his usual look of disconcern. But Hilde sensed something else in his eyes.  
  
"But I think you're moving too fast," Areina finished with a bow. The room was silent.  
  
Suddenly, shouts rose from the crowd - angry shouts? Yes, angry shouts! The crowd was booing Areina offstage. 


	12. Every Good Musician

Disclaimer: Yay! Another chapter for my awesome fans! Hope you really enjoy this one - I know I'll enjoy writing it! Oh yeah, and lyrics owned by Dream, the fantastic Pink, and the AWESOME Destiny's Child!!!!!  
  
  
  
Every Good Musician  
  
The next day, Areina did not come out of her room. The other roommates pondered why, although it was blatantly obvious.  
  
They had all been in shock when she was booed offstage just the night before. It was as if the crowd had suddenly gone deaf of good talent, and shunned it. As soon as they had gotten home, Areina had flung herself into her bedroom and hadn't come out since.  
  
A few of them had even tried coaxing her out of the room by yelling through the door, but no response was heard, not even a giggle when Duo would crack a joke.  
  
Relena had said that Areina was just depressed about the booing incident, and that she'd be fine by that night's performance. However, Quatre sensed differently.  
  
"I think this is more than just a one time thing, Relena," he had said with concern. "Areina's usually not this sensitive, even when people are mean to her."  
  
"What I don't understand is why they booed her," Heero commented to the surprise of his roommates. "I mean, she wasn't that bad."  
  
"Let me talk to her," Quatre said as he got up and moved to the door.  
  
"Areina?" he yelled against the door, placing his ear to the knob to hear a response. Nothing.  
  
"Areina, at least talk to me," Quatre exclaimed. "I didn't do anything wrong."  
  
Heero walked to the door. "Areina, may I talk to you in private?"  
  
A muffled response was heard, and the door opened from the inside. Heero was allowed in, but the door was promptly slammed in Quatre's face.  
  
"Aw, poor baby," Trowa spat from a nearby wall. "Rejected by your new lover already?"  
  
"Trowa," Quatre began irritably. "I already explained it to you! I'm not in love with Areina."  
  
"That's not what my memory tells me," and with that, he walked away again.  
  
- - -  
  
He found Areina lying on the bed, still wearing her tank top and jeans from the night before. Her face was deep in her pillow, and her body dug itself into her bed's sheets.  
  
"Areina, what is it?" Heero asked, knowing before the question was enunciated what the answer was.  
  
"You were right, Heero," Areina said with a sob. "I'll never be a singer."  
  
"Why do you say that?" Heero said with concern, again anticipating the answer.  
  
She looked up from her pillow with tear stained cheeks. "Did you hear that crowd last night?" her voice cracked. "They hated me! I was awful." With that, she stuffed her head back into her pillow.  
  
Heero placed his hand firmly on her shoulder. "That's not true," her murmured in his rough voice. "You're not awful. You were - and are - amazingly talented."  
  
"Yeah right," she said into her pillow and at him at the same time. "Since when have you ever cared? You were the one who said I couldn't make it in the first place. So now you come to comfort me and bask in the truth? Don't screw around with me, Heero. I don't need your pity."  
  
Heero closed his eyes and took a slow breath. "Areina, I'm not pitying you. I'm telling you the truth."  
  
She snorted at him with disbelief.  
  
"You're great!" he yelled at her, now with a flaming note of anger at her doubt of her own abilities. "You've got awesome dance moves, and your voice can move mountains! I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of one night!"  
  
"They absolutely hated me."  
  
Heero shook his head. "Why is it that people only notice it when bad things happen to them? When the audience cheered for you those many nights before yesterday, you shrugged it off, yet when they boo once, you go into tears."  
  
"You don't know how I feel."  
  
Heero admitted under his breath that he didn't. However, he continued. "Don't you see, Areina? Every good musician - every good artist! - is booed offstage at least once in their lives!  
  
"For instance, Beethoven, possibly the greatest musician in history, was ridiculed and criticized for his music. Elvis, doubtfully the most revolutionary figure in the history of pop music, was booed and hissed at constantly for the way he performed!"  
  
A pause filled the room, and Areina's sobs halted briefly.  
  
He continued. "But do you know the difference between these great musicians and everyone else that's ever tried being a part of the musical world?"  
  
Another pause. "They didn't let it phase them. They continued on, and ignored others' insults. And eventually, they made turning points in the history of music, and quite definitely in the world's history."  
  
Areina sat up and smiled at Heero. "You know, when you try being nice to people, it really works."  
  
Heero smirked, and she giggled before rising and walking out of the room.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina had pulled Relena and Hilde from the rest of them once again. The five Gundam pilots sat alone together in the room, and Duo knew that tension between Trowa and Quatre would soon arise.  
  
Surprisingly, however, neither of them said a word. Then again, their exchanged glares said enough for the both of them combined.  
  
"What's wrong with the two of you?" Duo said, finally fed up. "You guys are staring at each other like you hate each other!"  
  
"No comment," they both replied at once.  
  
"Sorry!"  
  
- - -  
  
Hilde walked out of Areina's room, unsure of what to think. Would Areina's performance idea really work, or would people boo her offstage again?  
  
She shook off her concerns upon seeing Duo.  
  
"Hey, baby," Duo said with a grin. "When we going dancing?"  
  
Hilde winced uncomfortably. "Duo, I'm really tired," she said hesitantly. "I don't think I'll be able to dance after the performance with Areina."  
  
Duo's face turned to anger. "Come on, Hilde! How can you be so tired? You sound like you're fifty or something!"  
  
"Simmer down," Areina's familiar voice came from across the room.  
  
"What concern is it of yours?" Duo intoned upon facing her.  
  
"Hilde's my friend. I think she deserves a break, is all."  
  
"She doesn't need it!" Duo shouted.  
  
"Yes she does," Areina said softly but firmly enough to make Duo stop. The braided man walked off in a fit of rage.  
  
"You need to learn to stand up for yourself some more," Areina said to Hilde. "Why do you let him push you around so much?"  
  
Hilde shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it."  
  
- - -  
  
Her fourth performance. It was quite scary to think that it was true. It was even scarier to think of what had happened the previous night.  
  
Hilde and Relena stood by her in their costumes, fidgeting nervously. At least she wasn't the only intimidated one.  
  
- - -  
  
The show started almost immediately after Duo sat down. Hopefully it would be good, since he was in a pretty bad mood after before.  
  
- - -  
  
Quatre and Trowa sat at different tables this time, both equally pissed off at each other.  
  
Trowa could not believe the selfishness of his ex! How dare he try to love both him and Areina! It was quite uncharacteristic of Quatre, especially considering that the competition was a woman.  
  
- - -  
  
Wufei sat alone, waiting for the show to start.  
  
He was sick of everyone else's problems - Quatre and Trowa, Duo and Hilde, and now Areina's humiliation! At least Heero had no problems - then again, the Japanese soldier's entire life had been one big problem up to that point.  
  
The show began, and Wufei sighed as he prepared for another sap-filled performance.  
  
- - -  
  
"Lying here," Areina sang into the microphone like an insane person. Her hair was streaked with blue and red, along with black glitter. Her clothes included a tattered, long sleeved, green shirt and a fish net shirt over it, along with tight red leather pants.  
  
"On the floor where you left me, I think I took too much," she continued as the spotlight revealed a pile of pills, pink and yellow and blue, surrounding her on the floor. She kneeled into the large pile, coming up to her waist.  
  
"I'm crying here, what have you done?" she practically whispered into the black sound maker in her hand. "I thought it would be fun."  
  
She grabbed a handful of the pills, and with one quick motion threw it into the audience with rage. "I can't stay on your life support, there's a shortage in the switch."  
  
She rose quickly and, with another two handfuls of pills, showered herself in the tiny plastic capsules. "I can't stay on your morphine cause it's making me itch."  
  
Her tone was now much rougher, taking on that of a scream. "I said I tried to call the nurse again, but she's being a little bitch. I think I'll get out of here."  
  
The lights shut off, but came back on with her next words. "Where I can run, just as fast as I can, to the middle of nowhere," she sang desperately into the mike. She kicked pills here and there in her fury. "To the middle of my frustrated fears.  
  
"And I swear," she yelled over the crowd, slamming back down into the pills. "You're just like a pill: Instead of making me better, you keep making me ill."  
  
She tossed the pills this way and that, forgetting about where they landed. "You keep making me ill!"  
  
Wufei sat in shock.  
  
- - -  
  
New music came up, and Duo perked up. Nice beat, he thought.  
  
Relena and Hilde walked onto the stage, giving it the aura of a runway with their classy walk. They began.  
  
"Question:" the three sang together.  
  
Areina took over. "Tell me what you think about me. I buy my own diamonds and I buy my own rings," she buzzed the catchy tune while posing.  
  
"Only ring your cell-y when I'm feeling lonely," she protested. "When it's all over please get up and leave."  
  
The stage burst into a flamboyant orange and red. The brass lit up with sound. "Question:"  
  
"Tell me how you feel about this," they danced smoothly. "Try to control me, boy, you get dismissed. Pay my own fun, oh and I pay my own bills.  
  
"Always fifty-fifty in relationships," she hummed as she turned quickly. They walked three paces, perfectly together, and turned sharply once more.  
  
"The shoes on my feet, I've bought it," they sang together, accompanied with a surprising salsa and a cheesy - yet amazingly suave - pose.  
  
"The clothes I'm wearing, I've bought it. The rock I'm rocking, I've bought it."  
  
Areina sang out again. "Cause I depend on me if I wanted-"  
  
"The watch you're wearing, I'll buy it. The house I live in, I've bought it.  
  
"The car I'm driving, I bought it," they twirled on with that hip whirl that Duo loved.  
  
"I depend on me, I depend on me," Areina took solo once more, walking to the front of the stage with ferocity.  
  
"All the women who are independent, throw your hands up at me," they sang as they swayed their bodies with their hands. However, the music stopped, and they tossed their heads down.  
  
With the lighting finally down, Duo could clearly see the other two's clothes. Relena wore a tube top and miniskirt - typical of her. Hilde wore a devilish top hat, an unbuttoned blue trench coat that reached her thighs, a tank top underneath, black jeans, and gray sandals. He wondered where she had gotten it.  
  
The next song began.  
  
Areina sang with a renewed argument, but still gentler than before. Her eyes attacked Quatre. "Stop making me feel bad. I'm the best thing you ever had."  
  
Why was it that she could get her message through so much more easily in a song? Duo shrugged, trying to enjoy the performance.  
  
"The only thing I'm guilty of," the others joined.  
  
Solo once more, Areina continued. "Is giving you too much love. Making you crazy."  
  
They came together again. "Making you crazy, making you a wreck." Their hips shook as they went on. "Making you follow me, making me suspect.  
  
"You seem to think I'm playing her game."  
  
"Don't you know my name?" Areina questioned in song. "That was her.  
  
"This is me," they intoned when pointing to themselves and shrugging to the beat. "We're different as can be," they shook on alternating beats, creating a peel-off.  
  
"She and I are nothing alike," they chimed. First Hilde sidestepped, then Relena. Finally, Areina twirled. It all came in one motion.  
  
"You're confusing day with night," the three voices echoed as each free-styled one after the other.  
  
"That was then," they halted, and continued. "This is now.  
  
"You want to trust me but you don't know how. I'm never gonna mess around, let you down, can't you see?  
  
"That was her, and baby this is me."  
  
"Get a grip," Areina finished off.  
  
Silence, far too long.  
  
Duo felt slightly worried, wondering what would come of it.  
  
Suddenly, Heero got up and began clapping. It was quiet and awkward, but it was still support. Quatre followed, then Wufei, Trowa, and finally Duo.  
  
The audience soon rejoiced as well in a tide of resounding cheers. 


	13. Fistfights

Disclaimer: Long time no see, eh fans? Heh. Surprise! The story is FAR from over!! This chappy of "Her" will be VERY exciting, I promise! Oh, and lyrics in this chapter are from Cher (bows down to the entity that is Cher), Shakira (you rock my world!), and, once again, the Supremes!  
  
And one more thing: some language in this chapter. Nothing TOO bad, but if you have a problem with it you may just want to skip this chapter.  
  
Fist Fights  
  
It had been quite tense in the apartment throughout the next day. Quatre and Trowa still weren't speaking to each other, Hilde and Duo seemed uncomfortable when around each other, and Heero and Wufei, as usual, wouldn't talk at all. Even Relena was unusually silent.  
  
"What's the matter with all of you?" Areina screamed in frustration. "If looks could kill, you'd all be dead!"  
  
They all glared at her, and a chill crept down her spine. Relena went into the kitchen, followed by Hilde.  
  
Quatre said shortly, "I need a shower." With that, he was in the bathroom, leaving Areina, Trowa, Heero, and Wufei alone in the room.  
  
Areina decided to have a conversation with herself, since it was obvious that she wouldn't have one with anyone else.  
  
"Maybe I should do 'Love Child' tonight," she muttered.  
  
"Why?" Trowa said with a smirk. "Because you are one, or because you're going to have one?"  
  
Areina glared at him, and reacted immediately. "What was that?"  
  
"I said, are you a love child or are you just going to have one?"  
  
- - -  
  
What happened next nearly gave Heero a heart attack.  
  
"Take that back, you jackass!" Areina shrieked as she lunged at Trowa.  
  
A very violent fight ensued. It began with Areina sending a swift fist to Trowa's jaw, and Trowa cried out more in anger than in pain.  
  
Trowa returned the blow by cursing Areina, calling her stupid, and kneeing her in the abs. Areina grunted and grabbed Trowa by the arm, throwing him straight into the floor. She tackled him, punching every which way.  
  
Trowa pushed her off of him and kicked her in the shoulder. She drop kicked him and got the advantage over him once again.  
  
By the time Wufei withdrew from his shock and pulled Areina from Trowa, both of the fighters were equally bruised and bloody.  
  
Heero grabbed Trowa before he lunged again, and the green-haired girl and sleek-haired boy still wanted to fight.  
  
- - -  
  
"What's wrong with you?" Wufei yelled in Areina's ear. The girl was fairly difficult to hold.  
  
"I'll rip you to shreds if you ever say that again!" Areina declared, ignoring Wufei's reprimand.  
  
"I'll bet," Trowa said, thoroughly calm, unlike his opponent.  
  
Quatre came out of the bathroom, only in his underwear and with wet hair. "What's all this racket?"  
  
"Shut up!" Areina and Trowa yelled at him in unison.  
  
Wufei blinked as Trowa and Areina went to their separate rooms.  
  
- - -  
  
Duo walked into the barely lit room and peered at Areina, listening to music on her walk-man and appearing as though she was sulking.  
  
"I heard you and Trowa got in a fight," he said, noticing her bruises and cuts. "Are you okay?"  
  
She simply shrugged in response.  
  
"Why did you fight him?"  
  
Shrug.  
  
"Are you mad at him? Or is it Quatre?"  
  
Shrug.  
  
"Are you at least going to speak to me?" he yelled.  
  
Another shrug.  
  
"Areina, if you're mad at me, could you please tell me?"  
  
She looked at him for a long while, almost five minutes. Finally she opened her mouth.  
  
"I have nothing to say to you." And she turned away.  
  
"Areina," Duo growled. "You're not making it any easier to be happy."  
  
"No one says you need to be happy all the time, Duo," she replied shortly.  
  
"But I do," he emphasized. "If everyone else in the apartment is always serious, they need someone to cheer them up some of the time!"  
  
"Duo," she said nonchalantly. "You're not responsible for their moods. You don't need to fix up their problems for them."  
  
Duo shrugged. "I want to."  
  
Areina looked at him again.  
  
"Anyway, are you still mad at me?"  
  
She nodded her head, and spoke. "Duo, if someone were hitting on you since the day you met them and only viewed you as a sex object, especially when they're not single, then blew up all over you when you tried to stand up for a friend, would you be mad at them?"  
  
He opened his mouth, but closed it.  
  
"See?"  
  
"Well, alright then," Duo said. "How about from now on, we'll start anew. I'll stop looking at you as a really, really...REALLY hot girl and start viewing you as a human being. Okay?"  
  
Areina shrugged and shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Areina. Pleased to meet you, what's your name?"  
  
"Duo," he said with a grin. "Duo Maxwell."  
  
- - -  
  
Quatre looked at Trowa, beaten and swollen in so many places. "Are you alright?"  
  
Trowa scowled and turned away.  
  
"Let me see," Quatre said as he approached the boy who had been mad at him for so long. Trowa glared at him, but allowed the blond to examine his black eye.  
  
"That looks painful," Quatre said softly.  
  
"Kind of," Trowa responded in a murmur.  
  
Quatre tapped the wound, and Trowa flinched, an unusual sign in the hard- hearted boy.  
  
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings," Quatre said to the anger-filled being in front of him that he used to know as Trowa. Now it was just a memory that he had forgotten was so great to remember.  
  
- - -  
  
Trowa glared back at him, but couldn't hold the charade any longer. "No, I'm sorry, Quatre. I hurt your feeling without really knowing the situation."  
  
Quatre looked at the floor, and back up at Trowa. They both avoided each other's glances, until finally they embraced. It was a short, quick embrace, but an embrace nonetheless. However, it was more than that.  
  
It was an apology, and a reunion.  
  
- - -  
  
This was Areina's first performance alone since the infamous booing incident. It would be tough to win over the audience by herself, she knew it, but it was now or never. After all, the curtain was being raised.  
  
- - -  
  
"Do you think she'll be able to perform with all the bruises?" Duo yelled over the music to Hilde. She shrugged, and the audience went silent.  
  
- - -  
  
Lights bounced off of her gleaming red necklace. Though it was fake jewelry, the light caused it to sparkle. Her outfit tonight was something she preferred: A simple loose T-shirt and hip-hugging jeans. She was barefoot, which was peculiar to her.  
  
The starting music began, and she opened her mouth.  
  
- - -  
  
"So I find a reason to shave my legs," she sang softly into the black noisemaker in her hand. "Each single morning.  
  
"So I count on someone Friday nights to take me dancing, and then to church on Sundays," she practically whispered into the microphone. A guitar and piano were all that accompanied her.  
  
"To plant more dreams, and someday think of kids," she gradually increased in volume. Her hands wrapped around her body, holding something that wasn't there, Relena thought. "Or maybe just to save a little money.  
  
"You're the one I need," she hummed, nearly crying to the audience. "The way back home is always long, but if you're close to me I'm holding on."  
  
Relena wondered as she stared at Quatre and Trowa, so happy that they were finally in each other's arms again. Maybe Areina wasn't as strong as she thought. Maybe Areina needed someone to help her.  
  
"You're the one I need," she sang with more passion. "My real life has just begun cause there's nothing like your smile made of sun.  
  
"In a world full of strangers, you're the one I know."  
  
The song ended with a long guitar riff. The next song's music began playing softly.  
  
- - -  
  
Heero felt almost sorry for Areina, the way she was dying for something that she couldn't have. She stood up there every night, wrapped up in the moment like a present, but she didn't realize how much she really gave away.  
  
The next line seemed to respond to Heero's thoughts.  
  
"I don't need your sympathy," she sang mercifully. "There's nothing you can say or do for me. And I don't want a miracle, you'll never change for no one."  
  
Heero sat in awe, for once in his life. It seemed as though Areina could penetrate anyone when she was singing. She seemed an unstoppable wave of emotion whenever she performed.  
  
"And I hear your reasons why," she sang loudly then backed off. "Where did you sleep last night? "And was she worth it? Was she worth it?"  
  
- - -  
  
In a blaze of her signature fury, Areina ripped two green scarves from her pockets and walked to the front of the stage as she sung.  
  
"I'm strong enough to live without you, strong enough," she turned her attention to him. "And I quit crying long enough. Now I'm strong enough to know, you've got to go!"  
  
Her movement ended abruptly, even to the surprise of the band. There was an unsteady moment of silence as all waited for her next move.  
  
"I started school in a worn torn dress that somebody threw out," Areina moaned into the microphone. "I knew the way it felt to always live in doubt.  
  
"To be without the simple things, so afraid my friends would see the guilt in me," she continued, narrating the story.  
  
"Don't think I don't need you, don't think I don't want to please you," she sang to the world now. "No child of mine will be bearing the name of shame I've been wearing."  
  
"Love child, love child," she cried. "Never quite as good. Afraid, ashamed, misunderstood.  
  
"But I'll always love you," she made the floor tremble and quake in fear of her voice. "Always love you, you, you.  
  
"I'll always love you."  
  
The audience made no hesitation this time. It stood and, in unison, clapped, screamed, cheered, hollered, whatever it took to let Areina know that she was loved. 


	14. Lost Princess

Hey, all. Long time no update, eh? Deku Scrub here, of course. Things in this chappy, hopefully, will advance the story a bit more. I'll admit, we are getting near the home stretch, but the story will go on! And so, here you go, another chapter of "Her." Lyrics in this chapter belong to Madonna and Gloria Estefan, two divas that I give props to.  
  
Lost Princess  
  
Relena was sick of it all. She stared into the mirror, disgusted at what she had become.  
  
She had always been afraid of turning into this, and now it had finally happened. She had become a hollow shell, empty of truth and feelings, nothing but an image. She had allowed herself to become that which she hated most, a self-loathing, hateful nothingness.  
  
The shell looked at a knife on her bedroom drawer, light from the lamp causing it to flash with viciousness. She picked it up.  
  
Funny, she thought. It's so small, and it's almost pretty. Who would have thought that such a thing could have such power over lives? With this, countless men and women have died since the dawn of time.  
  
Oh well, she thought. Just another casualty.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina needed practice, and it seemed as though every room in the house was taken. Hilde was in the kitchen; Quatre was in the living room with Trowa; and Wufei was in the piano room. Even the bathroom was taken by Duo!  
  
Finally, she gave up and headed for her room. Maybe there I can get some rehearsal for tonight, she thought.  
  
As she walked in, she noticed that the curtains were pulled shut, disallowing any light from entering the room. The lamp in the corner was on, right next to Relena's bed drawer. Relena stood in front of her large mirror, and Areina guessed she was admiring herself.  
  
Areina rolled her eyes and turned to the door again, but stopped when something in the mirror caught her eye. A small red drop shined under the light of the lamp.  
  
Areina stopped dead in her tracks, and leapt for Relena. She grabbed the weaker blond and forced her onto the bed, making sure she couldn't move the hand with a knife in it.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing to yourself?" Areina screamed into her face.  
  
"Stay out of it!" Relena screamed in an equally angry tone. "It's none of your business anyway! Besides, why would you care?"  
  
Areina's grip on Relena loosened. She had a point. Why did Areina care? Relena was possibly the one person in the apartment that she had no feelings for: not lust, love, hate, or any kind of emotion whatsoever!  
  
Areina snapped back into reality when she felt Relena easing off of the bed. She pushed her back down. "Stop it! Why, of all people, do YOU want to kill yourself?  
  
"You've got the most money of anyone I've ever met in my life, you're beautiful beyond my wildest dreams, you're insanely popular, and you love your life!" Areina grabbed the knife away from her. "Besides, you were doing it all wrong! If you wanted to slit your throat, you needed to cut much higher! Near where the Adam's apple on a man is!"  
  
"Do you really think my life is that great?" Relena retorted. "I can't even..." She stopped abruptly, suddenly taking in all of Areina's words. "Wait. How would you know the proper way to kill yourself?"  
  
Areina blinked, and stood up, off of the bed. She stared into the mirror, knowing that this would be hard to admit.  
  
- - -  
  
"I have tried to kill myself," Areina said slowly.  
  
Relena's jaw dropped. Why would Areina want to commit suicide? SHE was the one who had everything. Everything she touched seemed to turn into gold, everyone she met fell in love with her, she was gorgeous, she had a beautiful body, mind, and voice, and she was very secure.  
  
"There have been days, countless days," Areina said, seeming to recall a bad dream. "When I would sit in my little apartment back at home in Canada, and wonder why I should keep on going. I was so alone, so poor, with no family and no friends. Every day, I came so close to slitting my throat, or stabbing myself, or strangling myself. And every day, no matter what the time was, the boy who lived across the hall from me somehow knew what I was doing, and would always ring the doorbell, asking, 'Can I borrow a cup of sugar?'  
  
"Until one day, when he came over asking that, right when I had a knife to my neck, I finally realized what he was really trying to say. He was telling me how much I had to live for, that there were people, like him, who really cared for me. I began to cry, and I hugged the boy. He just stood there, telling me that everything would be okay.  
  
"The next day, the boy moved."  
  
Areina looked back at Relena, who was staring at her knife.  
  
"So why do you want to kill yourself?" Areina asked inquisitively.  
  
"I," Relena began uncomfortably. "Sure, Areina, you think I have everything. I have money, power, fame, even beauty. But the one thing I really want, I don't have."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Relena looked at Areina with wet eyes. "Friends. Not just somebody who says they're your friend, just so that they can manipulate you and look like they're at the head of the crowd. Real friends. I want friends who really care about me, and who will be there for me.  
  
"But every day in this apartment, I feel like less and less. I look at you and everyone else, and you all act so happy together. Although I try to be nice to you, you always shun me. And so, I try to appear cheery and rosy- eyed all the time, in an effort to hide my real self, because I'm afraid you'll reject me again."  
  
- - -  
  
Areina nodded. "Well, Relena, I care for you. I am your friend."  
  
"Don't say that because you pity me."  
  
"I'm serious," Areina said.  
  
Relena looked into Areina's eyes, and Areina tried to see her.  
  
The two embraced.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina was eventually forced to rehearse in the room with the TV. Heero found it kind of humorous, to watch the girl try to dance around everything in the room.  
  
"Why don't you just not do a dance tonight?" Heero said quietly, more to himself than to her.  
  
"It gives the crowd something to watch," Areina responded in between gasps for air.  
  
Heero shrugged, resuming watching her dance. Although he thought all of her performances were entirely too danced-up, he couldn't help but enjoy watching someone try so hard at something.  
  
Finally, he asked a burning question.  
  
"Areina, did your father abandon you when you were little?"  
  
Areina stopped dancing immediately, and stared at the floor. She leaned on the couch. "I don't want to discuss it, Heero."  
  
"Why not?" Heero said. "It seems like it's been on your chest for a while now."  
  
Areina closed her eyes. "My father left my mother and me for war when I was young."  
  
"There's more too it than that, isn't there?" Heero said softly, almost gently, at least for him.  
  
She looked away, seemingly trying to avoid Heero's face. "He had a mistress. He said he was leaving for the war, but the real war didn't actually start for another two years.  
  
"My mom knew that he wasn't going for war. In fact, she even knew he had a mistress. Although she knew that he never loved her as much as he loved the other woman, she let him leave for his lover because she knew that he'd be happy that way.  
  
"She loved him so much, Heero, that she was willing to give him up if he would be happier in another life."  
  
Areina covered her face, and turned entirely away from Heero.  
  
"Areina, it's okay," Heero said comfortingly. "I know how it feels - well, maybe I don't, but you should know that your father loved you, and..."  
  
He trailed off. For the first time in his life, Heero was at a loss for words. Areina stroked the amulet around her neck broodingly.  
  
"He gave that to you, didn't he?"  
  
"On his dying day," Areina said through tears.  
  
- - -  
  
She suddenly snapped out of her emotions.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said quickly, wiping her tears.  
  
"For what?" Heero said bluntly. "For showing me your emotions? Areina, revealing your emotions is the greatest gift you can give to someone!"  
  
Areina stopped abruptly. She glanced at him, and then stared. Finally, she gathered enough courage to walk to him, and hug him quickly, then withdraw.  
  
- - -  
  
Duo was shocked. Although he and Areina always fought, he was disappointed that he hadn't been able to talk to her much at all today. There were only a few minutes until her performance, and he sat alone at the bar as Hilde and the rest danced.  
  
He couldn't understand it. Why was he so depressed? Usually he was cheerful and happy. For some reason, he felt a sense of foreboding, like something bad was going to happen tonight.  
  
Weird.  
  
- - -  
  
The curtains arose to reveal Areina alone onstage, lying down in front of a piano and three background singers. It was funny, Relena thought, because when Areina had started performing here, the club had barely enough money to buy microphones for the stage. Yet, now they could afford bands, background singers and dancers, even pianos!  
  
"Take a bow, the night is over, this," Areina sang quietly with the piano as she lay on the floor in jeans and a sweater that draped to reveal her shoulders. "Masquerade is getting older."  
  
It was immediately obvious to everyone in the room that Areina was singing to Relena alone. Some people turned their heads to Relena, but all turned back to the stage as the performance continued.  
  
Relena began to interpret the lyrics.  
  
"Lights are low, the curtains down," she sang.  
  
You're alone, and finally have a moment's peace.  
  
"There's no one here." The background singers echoed her softly.  
  
Relena had no one to turn to, no friends.  
  
"Say your lines, but do you feel them."  
  
You put on an act for everyone, but do you really mean it, Relena?  
  
"Do you mean what you say when there's no one around?"  
  
Are you even yourself when you're alone, or have you lost that, too?  
  
"Watching you, watching me, one lonely star."  
  
Everyone watches your every move, and you become alone.  
  
- - -  
  
She turned to Duo now, still in the same song.  
  
"I've always been in love with you," she chanted as she got up. "I guess you've always known it's true.  
  
"You took my love for granted, why oh why? The show is over, say good- bye."  
  
She continued quickly into the next verse of the song. Duo didn't need to interpret the words: the song fit him so well.  
  
"Make them laugh, it comes so easy," she sang as she stared into Duo. The room's attention shifted to the young boy. "When you get to the part where you're breaking my heart.  
  
"Hide behind your smile, all the world loves a clown."  
  
Duo looked back at her. Why did she do this to him? What was she trying to say? He had thought that she didn't want a relationship.  
  
"Wish you well, I cannot stay," she continued, now teary-eyed. "You deserve an award for the role that you played."  
  
Now he understood. She was trying to let him know that she still cared for him, but that it was time to let go. He half-smiled to himself at the irony of the situation. Though Areina had never wanted their relationship to go beyond a friendship, in the end, she was hurt, too.  
  
"No more masquerade, you're one lonely star," she finished, leaning on the piano in pain.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina turned toward Trowa. "And I'd do anything for you, I'll give you up."  
  
Dancers began to walk onstage, and Trowa tried to understand what the lyrics meant.  
  
"If that's what I should do, to make you happy," she turned away as the dancers commenced into a slow salsa.  
  
"I can pretend each time I see you that I don't care and I don't need you," she sang desperately into the microphone, entering Trowa's mind.  
  
"And though inside I feel like dying, you know you'll never see me crying."  
  
She must have been referring to their awkward relationship. Every day, it seemed as though Trowa and Areina hated each other more than the last. But Trowa could tell from the next lyrics how Areina really felt.  
  
"Don't you ever think that I don't love you," she practically wept into the microphone. "That for one minute I forgot you." She was shaking out of pure emotion.  
  
"But sometimes things don't work out right, and you just have to say," Areina stopped, then finally ended. "Goodbye."  
  
She held out the note for as long as she could, and the audience raved. However, the performance was far from over.  
  
- - - Danny was sick of this.  
  
Although this girl was not nearly as good as some of his artists, the audience of the club continuously seemed to go crazy for her, more so than he'd ever heard at any of his artists' concerts.  
  
Why did he keep coming back? He was only wasting his time here. His boss had warned him that if he didn't find a new artist soon, he'd lose his job! So why was he sitting around here, waiting for a talent that obviously was not there!  
  
He knew why. Despite the fact that the girl had only an average voice, very simple dance moves, and wasn't even that amazingly beautiful, he saw something in her. He believed she could do better (If none of you remember this guy, than go back to the "Braided" chapter).  
  
The lights went completely black, and after almost a minute of waiting, the stage was finally revealed to the audience again.  
  
Areina stood alone on the stage once more, this time with a top hat on, a navy blue suit, and black high-heeled shoes.  
  
The music began with nothing but a drum in the background.  
  
"Come on, girls," Areina shouted to the audience as all of the women in the club shouted back. "Do you believe in love?" she continued in her dialogue with the audience. "Cause I got something to say about it, and it goes something like this!"  
  
The music commenced, enthralling the audience. "Don't go for second best, baby, put your love to the test.  
  
"You know, you know, you've got to," she sang in a fun tone. Ten dancers filled the stage, this time dressed all in black, but more modern clothes. One man was even shirtless!  
  
"Make him express how he feels, and maybe then you'll know you're love is real," she sang as she dominated the audience.  
  
"You don't need diamond rings," she sang as a man with enough golden necklaces and rings on to make a king look poor. "Or eighteen karat gold."  
  
She pushed the man away, who fell into the arms of another woman. "Fancy cars that go very fast, you know they never last, no, no," she sang as she did a quick little routine with her fellow dancers. The background singers echoed her once again, continuing the melody.  
  
"What you need is a big strong hand to life you to your higher ground," she nearly screamed as she shook her hips violently. "Make you feel like a queen on a throne, make him love you till you can't come down!"  
  
Two men lifted her, and she jumped off and quickly shed her suit's vest to reveal a belly-cut, sleeveless shirt. She began a series of tap-dances and hand gestures with a group of five dancing women.  
  
"Don't go for second best, baby, put your love to the test." She began look back and forth between the audience and the band. "You know, you know, you've got to make him express how he feels, and maybe then you'll know your love is real!"  
  
The music continued, and she began a solo dance, using her hat as a prop to spin, balance, and shake. Finally, she threw the hat into the audience, driving the crowd wild, and continued.  
  
"Express yourself, you've got to make him," she sang loudly as she danced with a second man. "Express himself, hey, hey.  
  
"So if you want it right now, make him show you how," she began a strut across the stage, cornering the man. She finally threw him to the female dancers. "Express what he's got, oh baby ready or not!"  
  
A man began crawling on the floor toward her, begging. "And when you're gone, he might regret it," she sang as she began sidestepping toward him. "Think about the love he once had.  
  
"Try to carry on, but he just won't get it," she hummed with her background dancers as she kicked the man up and ordered him back down. "He'll be back on his knees!  
  
"Express yourself!"  
  
The music stopped, and Danny thought.  
  
- - -  
  
Areina began walking backstage, when she was stopped.  
  
He had a briefcase with him, yet he looked fairly young. In fact, he was probably not much older than Areina. He wore a suit and a tie, and very polished black shoes. He looked at her worriedly.  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he mumbled to himself. "May I speak to you for one moment, ma'am?" 


	15. Decisions, Decisions

DS: Hey hey hey! Hrm.this story is getting unpopular. : ( O well. It wasn't meant 2 last I guess. But hey...I'll give you guys a deal. We're near the end here. But I'll give you a chance. If I get five more reviews of this story, I'll post a sequel, ok? That's it! five! That's all! So, hey, if I get 5 reviews, again, I'll make a sequel. And for those of you who are worrying, DON'T! We still have a little more to go after this chappy. But, as fair warnin we're reaching the home stretch. Okay, enough talk! Onto the chappy!  
  
Decisions, Decisions  
  
"Okay," Danny said to the awe-struck girl who he sat in front of. "Did you get all that?"  
  
"Well," the green-haired singer said to him doubtfully. "Are you sure?"  
  
Danny thought for a minute. Was he sure? Just a few seconds, he was doubting the girl's ability himself.  
  
No, no, no, he thought. She wasn't the most talented performer he'd worked with, by far, but there was something there....something he couldn't put his finger on. When developed, who knew what that something could turn into? She had a chance, and it wasn't like he had any other choice anyway.  
  
"Yes," he said, more to reassure himself than her. "Yes, I'm sure."  
  
- - -  
  
Areina must have been dreaming.  
  
This man was exactly what she'd been waiting for her entire life! A music agent was in front of her, ready to make her the next big thing! He was fully willing to be her manager! Her dream was standing in front of her face! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity chance!  
  
"Um," she said, again unsure and a bit shy. What if this wasn't the right agent for her? What if...?  
  
What was she thinking? He was perfect in every way! Young, liberal, well- organized...he even looked professional with his briefcase and well- tailored suit!  
  
"Okay," she said.  
  
"Good," the man said cheerfully and abruptly. "Oh, I never even told you my name!" he said in shock. "I'm Danny, Ms..."  
  
"Areina," she said happily. It was time for a new life.  
  
"All right, Areina," he said quickly. "We'll leave Friday morning."  
  
"Friday?" Areina said in surprise. Friday left hardly any time for her to pack, let alone to say goodbye to all of her friends. She suddenly realized that this new career meant losing her friends. Was it worth it?  
  
- - -  
  
"What's taking her so long?" Duo said to the others as they all waited outside for Areina. "We've got to get back home, it's already three AM!"  
  
"Maybe she met a nice guy," Relena suggested.  
  
They all looked at her sarcastically.  
  
"Please," said Duo simply.  
  
At last, Areina could be seen behind the door of the club. But...for some reason she wasn't coming out. She just stared at the group with sad green eyes. Something was wrong.  
  
- - -  
  
"What is it?" Quatre asked Areina for the fifth time since they'd been home. She remained silent.  
  
"What's wrong, Areina?" Heero said curiously. He'd never seen her like this. She showed absolutely no emotion; not sadness, not joy, not even anger.  
  
"I," she began, but trailed off. She seemed like she wanted to tell the group something, but couldn't get it out.  
  
"I'm leaving," she said swiftly. "Friday morning."  
  
- - -  
  
"You're what?" Wufei erupted, surprisingly the first to say something. "How can you leave?"  
  
Wufei stared at Areina with shock, as everyone else in the apartment, including Areina, stared at him with equal shock.  
  
"Why do you want to leave?" Wufei said, half angry that he hadn't had much time to get to know the girl. After all, he was pretty much the only one in the apartment who didn't understand Areina.  
  
"I don't want to discuss it," Areina said quietly.  
  
What? How could she do this to them? How could she leave the people she had loved, had hated, for over two months now? Sure, two months was very little, but somehow they had become so connected with Areina in that little time period.  
  
Why did they like her so much? Out of all of them, why did Wufei like her so much? She'd done nothing, absolutely NOTHING for him. At least the others she had helped out, given some advice to them. Why did Wufei feel like he was losing his best friend?  
  
Why should he care?  
  
- - -  
  
The rest of that Wednesday night was quite awkward. Areina couldn't sleep for the life of her. She kept thinking about what Wufei had said - well, not what he had said, really. She was pretty sure that someone would have eventually said what he did anyway.  
  
What she was wondering about was the fact that it came out of Wufei's mouth. Out of everyone, Wufei was the only one in the apartment that she had stayed fairly distant from. Yet, in the end, he was the one who questioned her.  
  
She decided to get up. Nothing would be accomplished by simply lying there, waiting to fall asleep. She walked into the kitchen.  
  
- - -  
  
Wufei sat in the kitchen, alone. He always got up at this time - about 5:30 - to meditate. He was on the cold kitchen floor, pondering on many things, namely Areina.  
  
Just as he got up to leave, Areina herself entered the kitchen. Realizing she was interrupting something, she quickly apologized and turned to leave.  
  
"Wait," Wufei said quietly. "I'd like to speak with you."  
  
- - -  
  
Areina turned back around, staring Wufei in the eyes. "What is it?"  
  
She cursed under he breath. What a stupid question! 'What is it?!' It was obvious! Wufei probably wanted to know why Areina was leaving, and she supposed that there was no hiding it from him.  
  
"Okay," she whispered before he could get out his question. "I'm leaving because I was offered a recording contract earlier tonight."  
  
- - -  
  
Wufei, for once in his life, was completely floored. Suddenly, for some strange reason, a thousand more questions flooded his mind as quickly as the others had disappeared; "From who?" was his first.  
  
"From a guy named Danny," she replied. "I don't know who he is, but he says he's helped many artists off of their feet, and he seems professional enough."  
  
"Areina," Wufei said, frustrated. "How do you know this guy is okay to go with? He could be some sort of con-artist, or a thief, or a rapist, or even...or even a murderer!"  
  
Areina's eyes flared. "Wufei, I can take care of myself."  
  
He looked at her apologetically. "I know, I just," he began softly. "I just worry about you."  
  
Now Areina had questions. "Why?"  
  
"Because," Wufei started as he swam through his thoughts for a reason. Why did he worry about her?  
  
"I guess because you're the only one in this apartment with hope left in their life."  
  
- - -  
  
Areina peered into Wufei's eyes curiously.  
  
"What do you mean?" she said slowly. "I'm just as screwed up from the war as you guys!"  
  
"Yeah," Wufei said shyly. "But you're the only one who still gives a damn about making something out of their life. You're the most ambitious out of us all, and I guess that's why we don't want you to go. You're kind of like a role model for us, despite what any of us might think."  
  
Areina looked to the floor. "I don't get it, I thought you'd be happy for me that I got a recording contract, but instead you're sad."  
  
"Is it so wrong that I care about you?"  
  
Areina shrugged. It was all so crazy...so pointless...  
  
"I'm going to start packing," she said as she stood to leave.  
  
- - -  
  
Relena looked over to Areina, stuffing as much as she could into her tiny bags. She has no hope of packing everything, Relena thought with a smirk.  
  
"I wish you would stay a little longer," Relena said quietly.  
  
"This is just something I've got to do," Areina replied shortly.  
  
"Why do you need to do it?" Relena said calmly. "No one, not even you, wants to."  
  
"Relena," Areina responded smoothly. "Remember back when you had to rule the Sanct Kingdom? You didn't want to, but you had to. It's the same way with me. I don't want to leave you guys, by any means, but I've got to. You see?"  
  
Areina stood up, obviously frustrated with her small bags. She walked out of the room, and Relena simply sat alone.  
  
"How did she know all that? How did she know I HAD to rule the Sanct Kingdom?" Relena said in shock.  
  
- - -  
  
Hilde was in the living room alone, seeming to be pondering something.  
  
"Are you sure you want to go?" Hilde whispered, almost silently. "We don't want you to leave."  
  
Areina had had enough. "Why do you all care so much?" she yelled in aggravation. "I'm just like a...a pet to you guys! I stay here for a while, but then when I go, you may cry, you may moan, but eventually you stop caring. Because you never really gave a damn to begin with!"  
  
Areina stomped into the kitchen, not bothering to look at Hilde again.  
  
- - -  
  
Quatre was in the kitchen. "Oh God," Areina said angrily at the sight of Quatre.  
  
"I heard all that you said in there, Areina," Quatre said quietly.  
  
Areina glared icily at Quatre. "What do you care?"  
  
Quatre peered up at Areina. "How can you think all that crap that you said in there? We all love you, Areina, and we don't want to see you go like this. You're not even giving us a reason!"  
  
Areina rolled her eyes. Why did EVERYONE need a reason here? She walked back into the living room.  
  
- - -  
  
Hilde sat alone, now weeping bitterly. Why did Areina think all that? How, after all this time, could she not know how much they all loved her?  
  
She looked up at Areina, who had reentered, and now looked shocked and apologetic.  
  
"We love you," Hilde mouthed pitifully. She hated it when she cried. Why did she do it? It was such a selfish thing to do, to sit there and try making everyone feel sorry for you.  
  
Areina sat down next to Hilde, with tears in her eyes, as well. "I know," she said simply.  
  
She embraced Hilde, and Hilde hugged back, not knowing what else to do.  
  
- - -  
  
Quatre walked into the room, glad that Areina had finally realized it.  
  
- - -  
  
Trowa and Duo walked out of their rooms, staring at Areina and Hilde. Duo walked to the two, and hugged them both; the two women that he'd love to have, but only one complying with his wishes. He cried.  
  
- - -  
  
Trowa and Quatre walked to the threesome, embracing all of them and managing to hold each others' hands', knowing that if their love could survive Areina, it could survive anything.  
  
Trowa smirked.  
  
- - -  
  
Wufei walked into the apartment, through with the grocery shopping. He stared at the group.  
  
Dropping his grocery bags with a loud clump, he slowly walked to them all, and hugged as much as he could. Sure, it was sappy, but he couldn't help it.  
  
He was touched.  
  
- - -  
  
Relena looked at them all from the crack in her door. It was amazing, the journey that Areina had lead them all through.  
  
Before Areina had come, Relena was all alone in this group. She had no one to turn to, because no one knew her. But Areina had rejuvenated her. She'd shown Relena what it meant to live, and how much life is really worth. It was so precious, and Relena fell into the fog of love created by the group.  
  
She, too, submitted, and embraced the group.  
  
- - -  
  
Heero stared at the group, a smile spread across his face. For once in his life, he was actually smiling.  
  
He felt some sort of warmth, a tingling in his heart. Was this what love felt like?  
  
He gazed at the whole group, finally breaking down into a cry. He was just as shocked as he knew some of the others would later be when they realized that he actually wept.  
  
Areina had actually broken through his seal. He'd been bottling up all of his feelings, but unwillingly, through her emotions, Areina had actually brought out his.  
  
Heero grunted out of frustration at the tempting group of friends. At last, he surrendered to them all, and joined with an embrace, trying to touch them all.  
  
- - -  
  
It was at last time. Areina's last performance was about to come. She only hoped she could give the crowd what they yearned for one final time.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," the bar owner said to the club. "We at the Midnight Horizon would like to give Ms. Areina a good farewell. This will, sadly enough, be her last performance here. We would all like to thank her for giving us so many great nights of singing, and we know that she'll go far."  
  
"Aw," Areina whispered from backstage.  
  
The curtain lifted, and Areina realized that it would be the last time that it would lift here for her.  
  
DS: Wow, I CAN'T BELIEVE I just wrote all of that!  
  
Okay, here's how the next chappy's gonna work; It's gonna be all performance. So, I'll need some suggestions from you guys as to what songs I should use, because right now, I'm BAFFLED! Lol Okay, hope you like it. And don't worry, it's not the last chappy. We're getting close, but NOT QUITE YET! Yay! 


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